The Arc Jefferson – St. Lawrence Foundation, Inc. announced today that it received a $25,000 Community Impact Grant from New York Life in support of the Bridges program and Bright Beginnings Early Learning Center. Bridges provides services and supports to children and youth with disabilities from age three into early adulthood and offers vital afterschool and weekend activities which help build social skills, grow independence, gain needed life skills, assist with schoolwork, and provide recreation. Bright Beginnings Early Learning Center offers specialized programming for children with disabilities, providing a wide range of services from infancy though age five, that include early intervention services, an integrated pre-school and an array of therapies such as physical therapy and speech services. The grant will help the organization add items to the playground at Bright Beginnings such as new shade structures and additional swings while also increasing the number of sensory items available for use by those with neurodiverse needs in both programs.

The Arc Jefferson – St. Lawrence Foundation (www.thearcjslc.org), is holding a walk to promote acceptance of Autism Spectrum Disorders at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 27, 2024 at SUNY Potsdam’s Maxcy Hall in Potsdam, N.Y. Registration begins at 9:00 a.m. The event will be hosted by WWNY-TV’s Jeff Cole.

The Arc Jefferson - St. Lawrence (www.thearcjslc.org) is taking significant steps to advocate with New York State legislators to request a 3.2% Cost of Living Adjustment for Direct Support Professional and for the Direct Support Wage Enhancement to be included in the One-House Budget. These requests were not included in Governor Kathy Hochul’s budget proposal, so members of the agency’s leadership team visited Albany earlier this month to ask for support. Self-Advocates also attended a rally at the State Capitol Building to call on elected officials to, “Invest in Me!”