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Intellectual Disabilities

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Best Futures Teaches Teens With Disabilities How to Work

The nonprofit employs more than 20 teens and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities at a concession stand at Centennial Ice Arena. It hosts a fundraiser at Stashs tonight.

If you got a drink from the concession stand at Centennial Ice Arena last winter, you also gave a special group of people a unique learning opportunity.  That's because for the past year, the concession stand at Centennial has been run by Best Futures, a non-profit started by a group of mothers to employ teens and adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Want Highland Park news in your inbox every morning? Subscribe to Patch's newsletter. "We had found out that the ice rink concession stand was vacant and we thought it'd be a great idea if we took it over and employed kids with special needs, since there are not many employment opportunities for the special needs population," said Lisa Whitefield, a Highland Park resident …

Amy Greenebaum

9:08 am on Saturday, June 9, 2012

Great job getting this together and giving the kids an opportunity for a work experience, Bravo to all who made this happen. Good luck with the fundraiser Tues evening!   more ›

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Students, Parents Rally Against 'R' Word

Hundreds marched to discourage the use of a word that's offensive to people with intellectual disabilities.

Nearly 200 people marched from Highland Park High School to Nova HP on Friday afternoon in a rally to discourage the community from using language offensive to people with intellectual disabilities. Part of a national campaign called "Spread the Word to End the Word," the "Rally for Respect" was an attempt to get people to stop using the word "retarded." The march was planned by the peer mentoring class at Highland Park High School. Want Highland Park news in your inbox every morning? Subscribe to Patch's newsletter. "We have always been talking about the 'R' word and what it means," said Highland Park High School junior Hannah Rudman, one of the event's committee heads, about her peer mentoring class. "We wanted to get the entire …

laurie williams

10:03 am on Thursday, April 19, 2012

It was an amazing experience for all!   more ›

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