Accounting Firm Takes Part in Team-Building
Adventure Workshop With St. Joseph’s Villa Kids

OCTOBER 3, 2007—Even when you’re safely secured in a harness, there is some very natural trepidation that goes along with crossing a gully on a wood-and-rope trapeze ladder that’s set 30-feet above the ground. But the participants in the first-ever youth and adult Adventure Workshop at St. Joseph’s Villa had plenty of physical and emotional support -- from each other -- to pull them through.

From 9 to 11 a.m. October 3, employees of the Mengel Metzger Barr & Co. LLP accounting firm took part in a St. Joseph’s Villa Adventure Workshop with several boys and girls who are current residents of St. Joseph’s Villa, a local agency serving kids with emotional and behavioral health issues.

Using the outdoor Challenge Course on the agency’s main Dewey Avenue campus, the team of kids and adults guided and encouraged by Villa recreation therapists to challenge themselves by attempting a range of physical and cognitive activities of progressive difficulty. Each activity required group interaction as well as personal introspection. The workshop began with a series of ice-breaking activities and tone-setting initiatives, proceeded to one or more low element activities (ropes 1-3 feet off the ground) and culminated with a high element activity (where ropes are 25-40 feet off the ground).

"While some may choose not to climb, other tasks such as spotting the ladder or being a part of the belay team (securing ropes) can be just as rewarding,” says Tage Brown, Villa Coordinator of Adventure Therapy and the Adventure Workshop’s Leader. “They will all be helping each other. And, by taking risks in a supportive and safe environment, they’ll gain positive insights, approaches and behaviors that can easily be applied in daily life."

St. Joseph’s Villa has been using adventure-based activities for many years as a proven way to help at-risk kids develop attributes like trust, teamwork, self-esteem, communication and problem-solving. For example, one of the Challenge Course elements requires participants to devise a way to get their team over a 20-foot wall using only their ingenuity and body strength.

This marks the first time that adults and kids have taken part in a workshop together at the Villa. In addition, Mengel Metzger Barr has given a donation to the Villa to provide indoor equipment that can be used during the winter months, which will expand the learning experience for kids year-round.

"This level of support and involvement from Mengel Metzger Barr really elevates the experience for Villa kids," Brown says.

Due to the fact that many Villa boys and girls lack adult role models in their lives, the October 3 workshop offers a great way for kids to gain confidence in their ability to build those important relationships, he says.

"The kids are familiar with the course and will be able to help the adults, show them the ropes, so to speak," says Brown. "This positive exchange will help the kids build self-esteem and interpersonal skills. Also, the adults will walk away with a new understanding of Villa kids, and become a stronger team as a result."

"We were excited about this idea right away," says Raymond J. Jacobi, CPA, a partner with Mengel Metzger Barr. "This is going to be such a valuable workshop for both the St. Joseph’s Villa kids and our own Mengel, Metzger, Barr employees. As a company, we continually strive to be an active member of our community and we hope that we can help other local businesses to see the value in these kinds of workshops."

Mengel Metzger Barr & Co. LLP, a locally owned accounting firm and independent member of the nationwide BDO Seidman Alliance, provides a variety of financial services including accounting, audit and tax services; business valuation; litigation support; mergers and acquisitions; financial and estate planning; and information technology services. The firm, established in 1975, currently has offices in Rochester, Elmira, Ithaca and Hornell, NY.

St. Joseph’s Villa cares for kids in crisis. The nonprofit agency provides a network of residential, educational, preventative and chemical dependency programs, serving more than 2,000 youth and families from Western and Central New York State each year. Whether a child’s crisis is related to abuse or neglect, mental health issues, substance abuse, the loss of a loved one or other issues, the Villa’s strength-based approach helps kids heal and start again in a positive direction.

Mengel, Metzger, Barr & Co LLP
100 Chestnut Street
Suite 1200
Rochester, NY 14604
(585) 423-1860
www.mengelmetzgerbarr.com

St. Joseph’s Villa
3300 Dewey Avenue
Rochester, NY 14616
585.865.1550
www.stjosephsvilla.org