The Springbrook Foundation enables Springbrook to fulfill its promise to provide supports for a lifetime. By managing grants, financial assets, and fundraising for Springbrook’s strategic priorities, the Foundation allows Springbrook to focus on investing in employees and promoting individual growth and family engagement. In this piece, we would like to introduce you to Joe and Adam. Both gentlemen have received opportunities that supported them in being successful because of your generous donations
Joe thrives when he exerts his independence. Just visit Springbrook’s Main Campus, and you may see him enjoying a walk or assisting a friend or staff member however he can. Joe is passionate about helping, and almost every day delivers items from his home at Wright House to neighboring houses on campus. He also uses his identification badge to swipe himself into and out of the school building. However, Joe was not always this independent and active.
At 13 years old, when he became a student at the School at Springbrook’s Tom Golisano Center for Autism, it was a challenge for Joe to leave his room. To provide Joe with the tools he needed to gain the confidence and independence that he has today, Adam Remillard, Assistant Director of the Golisano Center, worked closely with Joe and his staff. Together they built a plan of support to enable Joe to meet his potential. Steadily, Joe has used the supports and services provided by Golisano Center educators to become more comfortable and confident in his surroundings. Joe’s hard work, paired with the consistent support of qualified staff, means today he feels independent and welcomes all forms of learning and growth.
Satisfied employees, like Adam, excel in their work when they have the opportunity to learn and better their future in the process. Springbrook recognizes that dedicated and highly-trained employees are the heart of each of our many programs and services—they deserve direct investment in their success. For this reason, Springbrook proudly reinvigorated the Scholars Program—linking several existing and new employee training initiatives like in-house leadership preparation, on-the-job college experiences, Master’s degrees, and even clinical licensure. With the Springbrook Scholars Program, innovation can occur in a way many employers have yet to approach—shifting from an employer as a trainer to an employer as an educator.
Adam’s success and its effect on individuals like Joe demonstrate why your gift is so important and why your gift makes a difference. Your donation to the Springbrook Foundation is an investment into projects and initiatives like the Scholars Program that make opportunities possible for people like Adam. When Springbrook staff have the opportunity to enhance their careers, they become more confident in their skills, their positions as leaders in their fields, and more invested in the success of the people they support. This investment goes full circle and allows Springbrook to keep the promise of providing people like Joe with quality services for a lifetime.
“When I started working at Springbrook, I didn’t understand the science of this field. My education gave me an increased appreciation and opened new perspectives on our services. I have been able to assimilate ideas from across all of our programs and help our staff to apply those concepts for the benefit of every person we serve.”