Hattie Larlham

Last week, we had a blast celebrating Arbor Day with our little learners at Dahlberg Gibson Learning Center and our partners at Ashton Solutions and The Davey Tree Expert Company! Special thanks to our generous new friends at OAKLAND NURSERY, INC. in Columbus who donated all of the flowers and potting soil we needed for our flower planting activity! #BrighterTogether

Not only are our friends at Lakeside Sand and Gravel, Inc. great neighbors to us at the Hattie Larlham Center, they’re also generous long-time supporters of our organization! This past weekend, Lakeside hosted their annual open house event and, as they have done for many years, collected donations on behalf of the Hattie Larlham Foundation! Lakeside and their guests were able to raise an incredible $12,500, which will directly support the programs and services we provide to people with disabilities. Thank you to Lakeside and our Portage County community, you rock! #BrighterTogether 

🌳 🌱 On this $5 Friday Arbor Day, we’re planting for bright futures with incredible partners. This week Ashton Solutions and The Davey Tree Expert Company volunteered time and visited our students at Dahlberg Learning Center with a hands-on learning experience that led to lots of smiles. Together, Ashton, Davey and students planted a new tree onsite that will be enjoyed for years to come. In the green thumb spirit, our volunteers also helped every student pot their very own flower to take home to enjoy with their families. We are so grateful for our partners at Ashton Solutions who made this day possible and their commitment to our mission and meeting us wherever we go. As a statewide DD/IDD provider, Hattie Larlham is proud to reach families across Ohio and with support from partners like Ashton, we continue to grow and expand our reach to those who need our services. Committed to planting more smiles and opportunities to thrive, Ashton has provided a matching gift of $2,500 today. When you donate today your gift will be matched by Ashton Solutions, plus you’ll receive a special reward thanks to our friends at REBoL! Donate: hattielarlham.org/FDF

This week we’re celebrating #NationalVolunteerAppreciationWeek with the theme, “Every Moment Matters.” Whether they’re lending a hand for an outdoor cleanup project, spending quality time with our residents and day program attendees, or sharing their time in support of fundraising events, each and every Hattie Larlham volunteer makes an impact. Join us in saying THANK YOU to our volunteers for making every moment count and for helping us shine #BrighterTogether. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/guS6M6Z

Today kicks off #WorldMusicTherapyWeek and we’re celebrating our very own music therapist, Carly Reese!   For three years, Carly has played an instrumental role at the Hattie Larlham Center, providing 1:1 therapy sessions for residents. As Carly explains, it is important to recognize that the therapy sessions are not music lessons, but rather utilize music as a tool to help individuals work toward their goals and develop soft skills unrelated to the music itself. Music therapy has applications within occupational, physical, and speech therapy interventions and can aid in working toward a person’s goals related to those areas. We got to sit in on her recent session with John Luke, where they were using time at the keyboard to help John Luke work on his active participation and ability to communicate clear choices. During each resident’s session, Carly helps them work toward goals that are completely individualized to their needs. She shared that she is passionate about working with people with disabilities and enjoys seeing residents progress toward their goals.   Join us in saying thank you to Carly, and all music therapists, for the important impact they have in the lives of so many.   #BrighterTogether #WeAreHattieLarlham

Throughout March we celebrated Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month and all the ways we are working together to foster inclusive, supportive communities that empower ALL abilities to thrive. It’s only right to end the brightest month of the year with the biggest $5 Friday! When you donate today you’ll receive a free Bang Bang Shrimp appetizer from Bonefish Grill, plus your gift will have 2X the impact thanks to an incredible match of $8,000 from the Hattie Larlham Boards of Directors! #HattieLarlham #BrighterTogether Donate: hattielarlham.org/FDF

Be your own kind of amazing! Thank you to our friends at Portage County Board of Developmental Disabilities for these great shirts in honor of #DDMonth! #BrighterTogether #WeAreHattieLarlham

This week, we asked our extended Hattie Larlham family to wear their best and brightest YELLOW in support of people with developmental disabilities and our mission to empower them in their daily lives. Yellow is vibrant and hopeful and represents our philosophy that we always shine #BrighterTogether! Here are just a few of the moments we captured of our staff and residents shining their brightest this week. Have you posted yours yet? #DDMonth #BrighterTogether

As we continue to celebrate Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, it is our our honor to share our 2024 Annual Address with you. Presented by Hattie Larlham CEO Stephen Colecchi, and the Presidents of our Boards of Directors, Michael Weinhardt and Bruce Hearey, the annual address is a retrospective on the multitude of successes and milestones we achieved in 2023 and a look ahead to great things still to come in 2024. https://lnkd.in/eE2qvrFq #BrighterTogether #DDMonth #WeAreHattieLarlham

At the Hattie Larlham Center, and at our five ICF group living homes, we are proud to provide a variety of therapy services to our residents. Recently, Hattie Larlham’s licensed massage therapist, Richard, shared some photos from his session with Laekin. “Laekin is interacting with fiber optic sensory lights. They are used for relaxation purposes specifically in dark rooms, where the changing colors of the light provide a high contrast environment,” Richard explained. “As the lights change colors, it creates a calming and sedative affect that helps calm a person’s hyperactive sensory processing system. When the colors of the lights change at a higher speed, it can cause a stimulating effect for people with a hypoactive sensory processing system. Multisensory lights are also used for people with visual impairments. Our brains process color, contrast, and movement. People with visual impairments and sensory processing impairments can have impaired organization of their nervous system. Benefits of multisensory lights for people with visual impairments are they can promote hand eye coordination, improve visual perception, and create spatial awareness. I typically incorporate the use of multisensory light during my massage therapy sessions to enhance overall relaxation of the people we serve.” Richard is a talented and valued member of our team and is one of more than 900 employees who are committed to helping people with disabilities thrive at Hattie Larlham. #DDMonth #BrighterTogether