CampAbility is a recreational and educational summer program for school-aged children with Autism and other intellectual/developmental/physical disabilities being provided in a fun and safe environment. We host 2 camps simultaneously - a kids camp (elementary ages) and a youth camp (6th - 12th grades). We also offer summer camp sessions to the elementary-aged siblings. This is in order to help alleviate the burden on parents by keeping their children in one location, as well as provide familiarity to the camper with special needs by having his/her sibling nearby and give the sibling(s) companionship with other siblings who understand what it’s like to walk in their shoes. Our camps are offered for 6 weeks throughout the summer, Monday - Friday, from 9AM - 2PM (25 hrs/week). Campers are welcome to participate all summer or select particular weeks to meet their needs. The camps provide the routine and structure those on the Spectrum need throughout the summer, as well as continue to work on social skills, life skills, and academic skills in a creative and fundamental way.
BASCA offers a variety of programs designed to provide a range of learning opportunities. Our programs are a blend of Educational Classes (Money Management, Languages, Science, and History), Music, Exercise, and Art Classes, Social Development Classes (Anger Management, Relationship Management, and Community Safety/Exploitation Abuse), and Community Outings. The classrooms were set up so multiple classes could be held simultaneously, with clients rotating to the various courses throughout the day and week. 33% of the 77 individuals participating in the BASCA day program are on the autism spectrum. A major part of our Day Program is getting out into the community with every one of our individuals. We base these outings on opportunities that we think they will enjoy, that they themselves advocate to participate in. The idea is to introduce both new experiences along with experiences we know they find fun. Some of this past year's outings included trips to the Alligator Farm, Marineland, The Pirate Museum, the Florida Theater, and MOSH. These outings can be at times both expensive to the individual families and to the organization. Entrance fees for these outings are in addition to the normal day rate covered by the State. Also, due to additional behavioral issues and/or physical issues, additional staff members must be added to the outing to ensure that it goes smoothly.
Summer Jam 2024 is 2 day/week summer program lasting for seven weeks. In the past, Summer Jam was 1 day/week for 6 weeks. This year, I wanted to offer more activities such as creative dance and movement, social skill groups, reading group, and tutoring. The tutoring will be supervised by a certified teacher. The program is opened for 10 student; this will allow us to give specialized attention and support.
Best Buddies is the largest organization dedicated to ending the social, physical and economic isolation of the 200 million people worldwide with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Our programs empower people with IDD to form meaningful friendships with their peers, secure jobs, improve communication and advocacy skills, and live independently, while also offering support for their families. Within our one-to-one friendship program, we have an adult friendship program, Citizens. Serving participants 18 and older to continue friendship and leadership development. Our adult program runs monthly hosting one to two events. This summer we hope to host a large summer bash event for all participants to get together.
As part of the day program, BIG North Florida community members will participate in part-time employment job training, which is aimed at providing a variety of creative and meaningful work opportunities for our members. Work opportunities will include making screen-printed items and creative gift baskets incorporating many artisan items like shower gels, soaps, fragrances, greeting cards, and dog treats. These items will be sold both online and in our local community. Heal Grant funds will be used to purchase the necessary equipment and supplies to enhance our small business ventures.
Summer Fun at the Ranch will include Summer Adaptive Riding and Equine-Assisted Learning Season, Open Houses, Movie Outings and Caregiver Respite Events. Summer Adaptive Riding and Equine-Assisted learning Season: Participants will have equine-assisted sessions which include grooming and riding with support of a team of volunteers. The Mustang Learning Program for high school age and up, will utilize equine-assisted learning to develop social, life and work skills. Open Houses: Open to the entire community (including participants, their families, potential riders, donors and other local autism community groups). All are invited for a fun relaxing evening at the Ranch. Activities include dinner, horse grooming, golf cart rides, fun and games. Movie Outings: Partnering with Special Nation, we host a monthly private movie showing for 50 participants and their families. Our guests are comfortable to enjoy the movie however they want (walk around, make noises, even dance). It's a great opportunity for our participants to experience movies - often for the first time. This remains one of our most popular programs so we remain committed to continuing this opportunity. Caregiver Respite Events: Hosting a mom/caregiver retreat weekend which enables them to get away to rest, refresh and rejuvenate. Additionally, we host monthly gatherings for mothers with children/family members impacted by autism or related disabilities. This affords moms the opportunity to gather with fellow moms facing similar parenting challenges and being with others who “get it.”
BridgeHaven Academy is seeking grant funding to support our wellness / recreation initiatives. Many of our students struggle with motor control and intentional movement, and therefore often do not have the opportunity to participates in games and sports. Grant funds will be utilized to purchase much needed game/sports equipment, which will provide our students with the opportunity to learn new games and develop new skills. Benefits will include increased motor control; purposeful movement; gross and fine motor skill development; socialization; and wellness.
The BridgeHaven Communication Clinic has been in operation since 2020, and over the past four years has grown and thrived. We are seeking funding for several reasons in order for our program to continue to serve this community. In an effort to expand our services to the community of typers and spellers, the BridgeHaven Communication Clinic would like to offer ongoing workshops to current and potentially interested families in the Jacksonville area. These workshops would be led by our trained and accredited Facilitated Communication and Spelling 2 Communicate staff, and would be focused on implementing best practices, developing fluency, and increasing individual independence. Moreover, as our clinic continues to grow in name, reputation, and size, we continue to receive requests for services from individual families that cannot financially afford proper evaluations and coaching sessions. We are hoping to secure funding to provide financial assistance to these families so that funding is no longer a barrier to individual communication. The financial assistance will be awarded to those families in need as determined during the intake process, overseen by our Clinic Director. Lastly, grand funds will be utilized to purchase the necessary equipment for new typers and spellers, including Ipad stands and letter boards.
Since 1981, the agency has been a leading provider of quality specialized therapeutic foster care services (STFC). Currently, the STFC program provides placement and foster parent support services with 42 highly trained foster homes in Duval County. These vulnerable young people face significant challenges that require intensive mental health treatment services, including psychiatric care and trauma-focused therapy modalities. The therapist to client ratio is 1:5 to allow for two sessions per week depending on level and 24/7 crisis management. In many cases, youth in treatment also have co-occurring developmental disorders, including autism. The goal of the program is to develop the skills and pro-social behaviors necessary for youth to thrive in their respective communities as well as to prevent the need for a higher level of care and/or involuntary hospitalization (Baker Act). The agency seeks to continuously develop and implement innovative program enhancements not funded by per diem agreements in the effort to increase engagement and to expose children to new and exciting experiences. Because of the severity and complexity of disorders, they are often excluded from “main stream” summer camps or activities. This is especially applicable for non-verbal autistic youth. Thus, the agency seeks to place each child in specialized camps that focus on addressing pro-social behaviors and communication skills for youth with specific developmental needs. The agency has identified several specialized camps targeting youth with developmental disabilities.
Smile Camp is a week-long day camp run by Girl Scouts, for children ages 5 to 11 with autism and other developmental and intellectual disabilities including cerebral palsy, spina bifida, and visual and hearing impairments. Smile Camp offers campers with disabilities, who might not have the opportunity otherwise, to experience a week of new friends, outdoor adventure, and a sense of belonging in an inclusive environment. Smile Camp 2024 is being held at North Florida School for Special Education, a site designed to be an accessible and safe space for Smile Campers. Smile Campers will have access to the barn and animals at the school for a farm themed day, as well as the playground, gym equipment, and outdoor spaces. Each day at Smile Camp has a new theme with corresponding activity rotations, including games, crafts, music, and outdoor activities. Smile Camp gives children living with autism and other disabilities a break from their day-to-day routine and brings them outside for an entire week of new experiences. The camp also provides much needed respite care for the camper’s parents and care takers. The camp is run by as many as 40 Girl Scouts who are trained counselors ages 14 to 18. Supporting them is a team of up to ten Girl Scout directors ages 16 to 18 and Girl Scout adult volunteers including two adult advisers, a registered nurse and a chef. Depending on the intensity of care needed, counselors are paired 1:1 or 1:2 per camper.
Our 8-week summer Transition Camp will focus on social skills with structured group activities, daily living skills such as meal planning and preparing, pre-vocational and vocational skills with work readiness lessons, exercise to promote body movement and health/wellness, and weekly community outings. Our program is specially designed for teenagers and young adults. Teenagers and young adults are often overlooked and have limited summer program options. In addition, many providers cap their ages for services at 10 years old. We have certified staff who have the skills, abilities, and experience to work with teens and young adults with continued oversight and support on teaching methods and activities. The HEAL grant will help our families to reduce the cost of camp, fund stipends for field trips in the community to generalize skills learned in camp to real-life situations, food for our campers to work on food preparation skills, and provide a scholarship to a family in need of financial assistance to attend the camp.
A pivotal aspect of our mission is the upcoming expansion of the center's facilities. This strategic growth allows us to almost triple capacity, thereby extending our reach and impact. By moving to a new, larger building and enhancing our resources, Growing Together is significantly increasing its ability to serve more students. This expansion not only aligns with the center’s foundational goals but also reinforces its commitment to nurturing every student’s growth in a compassionate learning environment. This move signifies a major step forward in fulfilling the center's vision of a community where every student has the opportunity to thrive and succeed, including many of the 300+ students currently on our wait list! We view the expansion and growth of Growing Together as a beautiful part of the legacy of Aiden Kramer, for whom the school was originally designed, yet who sadly passed away in July 2023. The sensory room, Aiden's favorite activity, held particular significance due to his sensory deprivation from being deaf and later going blind. It reinforced the importance of providing robust sensory feedback in ways that really mattered to Aiden, a practice that has proven invaluable for all our students. This understanding is a key element of how we continue to learn and grow in our approach to education, honoring Aiden’s memory every step of the way.
We are seeking a grant to support summer activities and outings for our teens and young adult students at Growing Together Behavioral Center. These community-based experiences, such as dining at local restaurants, attending movies, and shopping, are essential for enhancing the social skills of our students. By engaging in these real-world interactions, our students can practice and develop communication, social navigation, and practical life skills, which are critical components of their overall educational and personal growth. This grant would enable us to provide these enriching experiences, fostering greater inclusion and community participation for our students.
The goal of the HUG Junior Golf Camp is to focus on teaching the game of golf to juniors within the autism spectrum. The HUG Junior Golf Program will be hosted at TPC Sawgrass. Every instructor that participated in the HUG/HEAL Junior Golf Program last summer was extremely touched by all the participants. Our specific funding needs are for shirts & hats for the junior golf participants as well as funding for food & beverage purposes. Due to the heat each day, the participants are given plenty of water & snack breaks so they can recharge and hydrated for the day. This requires plenty of snacks & drinks throughout the day. At the conclusion of the program each day, the participants have lunch provided to them at no cost to them.
We are preparing for our Free 2 Be Me and Camp Possible summer programs, and we need your help to make this a fantastic experience for our campers. We have been receiving many calls weekly looking for summer programming for students who have been turned away from other camps because their "special needs were too special." We want to welcome them to our program and give them a fun summer experience while also make sure their families have peace of mind their children are being taken care of. Thank you for your sponsorship last year. I’m hoping you’ll be able to help us once again make our summer program a success for students with disabilities.
Our funding needs include funding items to put on the camp; such as shirts for tye-dying, crafts, snack supplies, extra equine staff for safety, etc. HorsePlay Therapy Center is devoted to bettering the lives of children with special needs by providing some horsepowered fun! In addition to our hippotherapy program, where we offer physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy, we also have been able to provide our Breeders’ Cup Summer Camp in 2021, 2022, 2023, and upcoming in 2024! This camp will be a half day camp where our campers get to experience therapist lead equine-assisted activities, sensory trails, music, arts and crafts, life skills cooking activities, and storytime with one-to-one child-to-counselor ratios. This camp is put on by our clinical team, and counselors are Masters in Speech-Language Pathology students from Jacksonville University - Palm Coast Location. In both 2022 and 2023, we were fortunate enough to be supported by HEAL to do the Breeders’ Cup Special Needs Camp free of charge for our campers! This year, seven out of ten of our campers have diagnoses of Autism.
We play on a rubberized field to accommodate players with mobility challenges. All players bat and play the field each inning. Players bat from coach pitching or a tee. Players bat until they make contact with a pitch and run all the bases. We had an increase in registrations this year which resulted in adding 2 more teams to our league. We now have 8 teams with ~10 players per team. Mission Statement: Every Child Deserves a Change to Play Baseball. We are a league that provides opportunities for children and adults with disabilities to play baseball, regardless of their abilities. We cannot change or cure the medical issues life has dealt them. What we can do is provide them with an opportunity to experience the joy and benefits that come from playing baseball.
The Summer Music Therapy Program at JSA offers a dynamic and enriching experience tailored to the unique needs and interests of our students. Designed to provide a supportive and engaging environment, this program integrates music therapy techniques with individualized educational goals to promote holistic development. Throughout the program, students will participate in a variety of music-based activities carefully crafted to address their specific challenges and strengths. Under the guidance of certified music therapists and experienced educators, participants explore rhythm, melody, harmony, and movement, using various instruments and vocal techniques to express themselves creatively. The program's curriculum is highly flexible and adaptable, allowing for personalized interventions to support communication, social skills, sensory integration, emotional regulation, and cognitive development. Through structured music experiences, students learn to enhance their verbal and nonverbal communication, engage in peer interactions, and build self-confidence. Beyond the therapeutic benefits, the Summer Music Therapy Program fosters a supportive and inclusive community where students feel empowered to explore their musical abilities, express themselves authentically, and connect with others in meaningful ways. By harnessing the power of music as a universal language, this program inspires growth, self-discovery, and joy for students with autism, enriching their summer experience and laying the foundation for continued progress throughout the year.
The Intensive Summer Program is four weeks of intensive Applied Behavior Analysis and Verbal Behavior services for children with developmental disabilities. The program starts with the parents filling out an enrollment package that give the staff a good assessment of the needs for each child. Each child receives a comprehensive and Individualized Program with identified goals and objectives for the acquisition of targeted skills. The low student-to-teacher ratio maximizes individualized attention throughout the entire day. Parents can choose a two-week program or take advantage of all four weeks for the Intensive Individualized Summer Program.
Kids Connect Today offers social skills classes in person and virtually for children, teens and young adults with autism. We would like to use funds for scholarships to give to families who cannot afford our services.
Summer ABA Program for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder(ASD) and other special needs. Provide a summer program for children diagnosed with ASD providing either one-on-one insurance paid ABA or private pay social skills. Working in a fun and enriching environment with arts and crafts, sports, sensory, and water fun while learning new communication skills and social skills.
This program offers a continuation and deeper dive into the STEM-centered customized art therapy curriculum utilized during the school year. Created in collaboration with Indigo Art Therapy, our art curriculum not only provides students with opportunities to creatively express themselves, but incorporates sensory integration, fine motor skills, cognitive spatial awareness, and strategies for anxiety reduction. Funding is requested for larger-scale art projects that will take place each themed week.
Both Mandala Family Wellness and Palm Valley Child Development Center share a common playground. While the grant is targeting summer camp activities, we hope to look at a larger scale project in updating our common playground to become more adaptive and ADA friendly. This includes installing AstroTurf for a more easily navigable surface for students and clients and additional playground equipment for students to engage in both for physical and sensory input.
Our clients range in age from 3 - 19 years of age. Relevant to this grant application, we serve the needs of our nonverbal clients through the use of alternative forms of communication, such as string and percussion Instrument playing, dance/movement, composing, drum circles, and individual playlist creations. Many of our clients who are nonverbal are finding ways to express themselves through music. We also use singing or humming for these clients as a way to encourage forming words or phrases, which often leads to them speaking with increased rate of speech, inflection and clarity. Our specific funding needs are to ensure continuation of our group Music Therapy sessions during the summer months, at no cost to parents.
The marriage of both school and therapy services allow our program to focus on boosting children’s social-emotional, cognitive, and language abilities in a learning environment. By using a databased approach, this program empirically supports teaching and therapy practices that are deemed highly effective from research in developmental pediatrics. This model fuses a behavioral, relationship-based approached with a more developmental, play-based one in order to create an integrated while that is both individualized and standardized. To ensure our learners are accessing play and relationship-based skills, Palm Valley Child Development Center continues to seek enrichment materials for our program throughout the school year and summer session. Both Mandala Family Wellness and Palm Valley Child Development Center share a common playground. While the grant is targeting summer camp activities, we hope to look at a larger scale project in updating our common playground to become more adaptive and ADA friendly. This includes installing AstroTurf for a more easily navigable surface for students and clients and additional playground equipment for students to engage in both for physical and sensory input.
As mentioned previously, our participants’ social lives are enriched through organized activities with peers, and through therapeutic classes. These classes develop basic social skills and prompt an understanding of collaboration. Over the course of the last few years, our director has observed enhanced vocational skills in individuals who participate in both vocational and social programming. On average, individuals who partake in our social programming, have higher capacities for collaboration, heightened social skills, and increased abilities to maintain skills in different settings. While we aim to equip participants with more refined skills, we also appreciate the value fun activities provide. We have elevated our programming to include fun, off-campus excursions. It’s these supplemental excursions we are looking to have funded through HEAL. Through excursions, we seek to build participants’ confidence, challenge their self or socially imposed limits, and expand their personal experiences. All excursions will be professionally chaperoned and guided. We are seeking funding for four upcoming group excursions this spring and summer: a kayak experience, a career fair, a comedy show outing, and a trip to the movies. Finding appropriate social opportunities for individuals with Autism, can put significant emotional and financial stress on families. Through funding, our goal is to cover the costs of these excursions and provide a safe and structured environment where participants can enjoy themselves barrier-free. We hope HEAL can see the value in helping these individuals challenge their self and societally imposed limits, through enhanced excursions, and supplemental programming.
We will run two programs during the summer: 1. Extra-Special Moms Group: This group has been running for over a decade and is still our most popular. It usually fills up in 48 hours and we usually have a waitlist. It focuses on mainly moms, and this summer we will be opening it up to partners/spouses of neurodivergent adults, as we're seeing a need for understanding and support in this area. This group is created and led by Janeen Herskovitz, LMHC 2. Socialization Group: Katherine Scott, LMFT created our social skills curriculum/program, however we have decided to call it a socialization group since the term "social skills" usually has a negative connotation to those who have been forced to learn how to be neurotypical. The goal of this group is to help autistic teens and young adults learn how to function in a world that wasn't designed for them. This group takes into account the sensory needs and abilities of the group members and is led by two of our licensed therapists; Jordan Depratter, LMFT and Nikeda Burphy, LMHC/registered play therapist.
We are putting together a social skills program this summer with the hopes to run it every summer moving forward for children between the ages of 8-12 years. The program also has a parent component to teach parents the skills to increase success with their children. We are planning to use the PEERS certified social skills training program, which requires completion of a training program in order to implement the PEERS system.
Special Nation will provide social, recreational and therapy activities throughout the summer for individuals of all ages in the community with autism and their families. Our activities will include: regular Wednesday Night Friends Group gatherings at Redeemer Church and other locations throughout the community including Bit of Faith Ranch.This is a time for families to fellowship together, enjoy community and learn about being followers of Christ with an adapted curriculum. Once a month, we celebrate birthdays and have a Karaoke Night celebration. Additionally, we provide respite on Sunday mornings for parents to attend on-site services. Special Nation (partnering with Bit of Faith Ranch) hosts an At the Movies event once a month for up to 50 people to gather to see a current movie in a sensory-friendly private theater. We also partner with Bit of Faith Ranch to organize monthly Moms/Caregivers Meetups. We offer a monthly Second Sunday Special Praise which is a family-friendly, full church service including worship, a sermon, and communion for all abilities. This is a very special intimate time for the individuals we serve and their families to go to church where they find total belonging and acceptance. We will be hosting five sessions of Music/Art Therapy over the summer. These once a week sessions will be available by sign up for those impacted by autism and related disabilities. Special Nation plans to have a VBS Night and a sensory-friendly hour at our July 4th festival.
Spectrum Sailing's 2024 Jacksonville camp took place during Duval County school spring break, a time when children on the spectrum do not have school activities, and also suffer from a lack of inclusive extracurricular activities and programs to engage in. Spectrum Sailing ran a 3-day professional sailing camp, free of cost to all families, that was hosted by the Florida Yacht Club. Sailors were taught knot-tying, weather and water safety fundamentals, parts of the boat, and how to harness the wind to move the boat through the water. Each day of camp consisted of several hours of active on-the-water sailing as each team of 3-4 kids worked together to sail their boats on the St. Johns River. Inclusion is at the core of our mission, and we know that removing the financial barrier to sailing is key to increasing access for this underserved population. That is why we never charge the families whose kids attend our camp. But our camps are not free to run, and we are seeking local community support to help defray the costs of conducting camp, so we can keep this program free for all kids.
We have two Thrift Stores that we use to help the Autistic and developmental delayed individuals learn job skills and life skills. Those skills that we develop, and they learn really help them when going to work in corporate America. We pay these individuals to help them learn about money and how to manage their income. We have completed over 250 On the Job trainings in 6 years.While we get some funding its not enough to cover the income of all our individuals. Some of our employees take longer to move into positions with other companies than others and this is where we use the grant money.
We are a licensed group home with the Department of Children and families that exclusively takes in kids with Autism and other related diagnosis in the foster care system. We are planning to do a summer camp for our youth which is currently at 5 residence. Strive YFS is a licensed group home under the Department of Children & Families, we specialize in providing housing for children diagnosed with Autism and related disorders. MISSION: Empowering individuals with autism to lead fulfilling lives by providing supportive and inclusive housing solutions. VISION: Strive Youth and Family Services envisions a future where accessible and compassionate housing not only meets their basic needs but also serves as a catalyst for personal growth, independence, and meaningful connections.