In recent weeks I’ve shared stories of my school days, stories about my family, and stories from my hometown.  As I ponder the topic for this end of year message during this holiday season, my thoughts keep returning to how things are there, and how they are quite different here where I live now, in [...]

When someone passes away, there is a void left where he or she once was.  When that person has special needs, there is a little different feeling.  People with developmental disabilities need added, extra care and support throughout their lives.  Picture raising a five-year-old child who stays five for 60 years or more, and that’s [...]

For the past five years, during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, my husband, children and I have taken to the air or the roads to visit family.  We rotate between Tennessee and Pennsylvania for the specific holiday, and each year we go to each location.  This year was our year to be in Tennessee for [...]

Being the sibling of a developmentally disabled person means I’ve grown up around special people my whole life.  I’ll admit, ashamedly so, that I have not always been extremely comfortable around those folks who were just a little bit different than me.  I have grown and matured over the years, and working around these wonderful [...]

I still remember the day when my sister moved out.  Well, I guess I remember more the night before, because I never really knew what kind of impact it would have on me, nor did the 10 or so friends of mine who were with me, spending the night at a fellow cheerleader’s house, the [...]

The other day, I had the wonderful opportunity to tour one of our community’s sometimes hidden gems.  But what I left with were more questions in my own mind than answers.  The local county public school system has a wonderful school devoted solely to those with developmental disabilities.  Students range in age from the sixth [...]

I recently watched a story on ABC’s Good Morning America about a group called Flame.  The touring band of 10 members is quite unique in that each of them has some form of development disability ranging from cerebral palsy to autism to blindness to mental retardation and other disorders.  They all attend the Lexington Center located in [...]

I don’t think I’ve ever seen more joy on the faces of the clients at ARC Marion than I do when they are told what kind of good things they are doing in the community.  In October, when they collected new pajamas and books for homeless children in Marion County, they were overjoyed to help.  [...]

There really aren’t words to describe how grateful we are for the outpouring of love and support our Ocala community gave during this year’s Elegant Evening of Thanks.  When Hope Foundation board member, Kelley Jenkins became the chair of the committee (read previous blog post), I knew it was going to be a special year, [...]

During the Elegant Evening of Thanks event held on Friday, November 20, I had the privilege to stand before the crowd over nearly 240 people and share about the clients at ARC Marion.  My words. My heart. I thought I would recount my words here in print for anyone else who might be interested…
“The clients [...]