On October 15th, Kayla’s Directory had its first fundraiser, “Cocktails for a Cause.” This event would not have been possible without the support of incredible friends, family, and an amazing community. I would like to thank our committee members: Nancy Warren, Katherine Marsala, Liz Snyder, Gretchen Beaudin, and Nancy Westbrook for helping to organize, put together, and run the event. I would also like to thank our board members for continued support and networking for the silent auction during this busy time: Nancy Westbrook, Erynne Ross, Laura Bonazinga Bouyea, Kevin Pellon, and Josh Kruk. Finally, I would like to thank my parents, Sally and Terry Ryan for finding auction items, running errands, and helping out with Kayla. A very special thanks goes to Grant Robertson (pictured above), a Essex High School Student, who spent HOURS with his camera in order to put together an amazing and touching film for the event. An extra … [Read more...]
Magical!
Project Prima is an incredible dance program that started last year at UVM. The class is held once a month and is for children with special needs. It is truly a magical program! Emily Fixx, a dancer, wrote an amazing blog about the program. I owe much of the credit for our program, Project Prima, to the two founders of Ballet Viridis, who have both recently graduated from UVM. I met them in my early morning ballet class during my second semester of freshman year, when they had only just began talking about their desire to start a ballet club. They asked me if I wanted to come to a sort of “test rehearsal” with a few other girls to see if we would all be interested in starting the club together. From then on we were hooked. We started dancing more and more each week, first in the racquetball courts in the gym, and only occasionally getting to use the big dance studio on campus. After many meetings and a lot of paperwork, we … [Read more...]
Fabulous 5K with the Hoyt Team
On September 25th we set out to Dracut Massachusetts to participate in the Joseph Middlemiss Superhero 5K race. The Joesph Middlemiss Foundation was started in memory of a courageous boy who was born with a rare congenital heart disease known as cardiomyopathy. The missions of the foundation is to promote random acts of kindness and to contribute to spread awareness of childhood heart conditions while providing financial, social, and emotional assistance to families impacted by these conditions. Dick and Rick Hoyt have graciously shown their support for this race for the past three years. Not only do they arrive with their big Hoyt trailer packed with running chairs for people to use if needed, but they also always show up with such positive energy. I left the race with all of the following: Inspiration: People of all different ages push individuals with various disabilities and of various ages. A daughter pushes a mother; a … [Read more...]
Lasting Friendships
In mid-august, we received a postcard in the mail about soccer starting. I promptly emailed the coach to get more information about the program and how long it would last: practice twice a week culminating in a tournament in mid-October. Of course, this is not your typical recreation soccer, Far Post, or Nordic soccer programs. We are talking about Special Olympics Soccer. One of the coaches of the soccer program is a man named Giles Willey. Giles works at Vermont Systems Inc, which has generously supported Kayla’s Directory. Jessica Valley coaches the more advanced team. I babysat Jessica 20+ years ago with her two siblings and two cousins, all part of the very respectable Willey family from Essex. There are several other coaches helping out as well, all of whom are amazing. They really take their time to teach these players the skills, the plays, and the strategies of playing soccer. As an added bonus, the program is very … [Read more...]
“A Little Something” gives big
It never fails to amaze me how much some individuals go above and beyond to assist people with special needs. It becomes especially apparent when you enter a local store and see employees who have disabilities. This tells you a lot right off the bat about the owner of the business and the compassion that they have in helping those that are different. When I walked into the beautiful shop "A Little Something" in Shelburne, I began talking to Deirdre, who owns the shop. I have been going to A Little Something since it opened years ago. Little did I know the positive impact that Deirdre has been having on our community all this time. Deirdre has been in touch with Howard Center for Human Services for several years and has been hiring individuals with disabilities to help out in her store. Attached are the questions that I asked Deirdre about her experience. When reading it, I was brought to tears. I have become connected with a lot … [Read more...]