Thank you! You made all these achievements possible!

Authors Luncheon authors Thomas Mallon, Annie Barrow, Silicon Valley tech writer, Ashlee Vance andPam Muñoz Ryan

We had a wonderful autumn and I want to share these successes with you because you made all this possible! Much has been accomplished in the last couple months, so as we celebrate Thanksgiving and on behalf of everyone at Abilities United, thank you for everything you have done to help people with developmental and physical disabilities.  

In the spirit of the season, please join us to celebrate “Giving Tuesday” on December 1. Now in its fourth year, Giving Tuesday is a global day of giving fueled by the power of social media and collaboration. GivingTuesday kicks off the charitable season, when many of us focus on our holiday and end-of-year giving.  Abilities United’s Giving Tuesday campaign goal will be to raise the final $15,000 needed to place 50 individuals with disabilities in jobs that match their skills and interests and meet the needs of the employer.

You can donate to our Giving Tuesday employment campaign now or look for our "Giving Tuesday" email next week.

Thank you for all your contributions because everything you do brings us closer to reaching our goals to:
    •    Provide seamless transition from one service to another throughout the lifetime of participants.
    •    Increase Abilities United brand awareness.
    •    Assess the needs for redevelopment of Abilities United facilities.

Join me in celebrating the successes of the last couple months.

fundraising events

    •    authors luncheon The 24th annual Authors Luncheon once again broke its fundraising record and raised $356,000 for services for children and adults with developmental and physical disabilities. More than 500 book lovers and friends of Abilities United joined four acclaimed authors Annie Barrow, Thomas Mallon, Pam Muñoz Ryan, and Silicon Valley tech writer, Ashlee Vance for an entertaining lunch on Saturday, November 7, at the newly remodeled Crowne Plaza Cabaña in Palo Alto.   Many thanks to the hundreds of dedicated volunteers, donors, and book lovers who consistently make this one of the community’s most anticipated and beloved annual fundraising events. Please join us for the 25th anniversary of the Authors Luncheon in 2016!



    •    aquathon The 38th annual Aquathon made a splash on Sunday, September 13, at the campus pool of West Valley College in Saratoga.  Returning lead sponsors were Oracle and De Mattei Construction.  Twenty swim teams with 126 swimmers raised over $80,000. The Abilities United Aquathon is a community event that demonstrates how each person can participate and contribute. Special thanks to all the individuals, teams, and groups for their support of the people with developmental and physical disabilities that Abilities United is privileged to serve. Congratulations to everyone and let's dive in to the Abilities United Aquathon 2016!

staff and volunteer awards
    •    sarc "service above self" awards  We are so proud of Lupe Arizaga, our Children’s Services Occupational Therapist, and Board Member Mike Aquilar, who each received a coveted SARC recognition awards. Lupe’s 20 year career with Abilities United Children’s Services and Mike’s decades of work as an advocate for people with disabilities garnered them the “Support Staff of the Year” and the “Advocate of the Year” awards respectively.  We are also delightged to note that Abilities United staff has received the award 4 out of the last 6 years and participants have won the "advocate" award two times!  Join us in congratulating Lupe and Mike on being recognized for their professionalism and leadership!

services

    •    employment services The compelling Palo Alto Weekly cover story “Able and Willing”, about employment options for people with disabilities, featured Abilities United Employment Services participant Brett Carmody, an auto detailer at Tesla in Palo Alto and Joel Martinez, a morning server in the dining room of the Homewood Suites Hilton Palo Alto.  Read the story here.



The Abilities United special guest speaker at the Authors Luncheon, Pat Romzek, father of a son with Down syndrome, Vice President of Cloud Strategy of Cisco Systems, and a member of the Abilities United board; further expounded on the importance and power of employment in the lives of all people, and especially people with disabilities.   His impassioned speech about the employment rights of people with disabilities compelled the Authors Luncheon audience to donate approximately $115,000 to fund the placement of 50 individual with disabilities in jobs in the community.
Watch Pat Romzek’s speech here.

    •    integrated living Abilities United celebrated the grand opening of the 1585 Studio apartments located in Mountain View. As part of the grand opening, they purchased and showcased ten original works of art by artists from Abilities United.

 Eleven Abilities United participants are residents of 1585 Studios and also receive personalized one-to-one coaching through our newest program “Integrated Living”. This two-year pilot project is a coordinated program of educational, social, vocational, and independent living training needed by post high school or college-aged students with disabilities. The extensive instruction will benefit the participants with employment placement, increased independence, and access to college and community resources and activities. The ultimate goal is for these young adults to live independently after completing the two-year program.
Learn about the new Integrated Living program. 


As we approach 2016, I look forward to keeping you informed about more progress at
Abilities United.

Charlie Weidanz
Executive Director

An end of year report on July 1, 2014 through July 31, 2015

Reflections on your contributions this past year

This year, Abilities United celebrates 52 years of service to our community. I am proud to be a part of this important agency that you helped create and sustain and am pleased to report out on the highlights of this year.

Our success is due in large part to you, our thousands of donors, volunteers, and partners who support the organization.

Each of our donors and philanthropic partners was critical to the successful completion of our United for the Future campaign, which raised over $2 million.  We also had record revenue from the Authors Luncheon which raised $350,000 and the Aquathon having raised $125,000, and The Sobrato Family Foundation 2 to 1 Challenge grant which contributed an impressive $225,000.

Like any nonprofit, Abilities United depends on the generosity of our volunteers to propel us beyond what our existing human and financial resources can accomplish.  In 2014/2015, dedicated and talented volunteers donated nearly 6,500 hours to Abilities United services and administration. Their hard work is valued at over $170,000 and is equivalent to 3 full-time staff members!   This year in particular, we have had tremendous insight and talent provided by more than 335 dedicated and talented volunteers.

Our community partners ensure that the people we serve receive the best services available. The Regional Centers, as well as the Department of Rehabilitation, are key partners in our ability to provide award winning services to thousands of Peninsula and South Bay children and adults.  To enhance all of our service offerings we have also partnered with over 200 corporations, nonprofits, schools, service organizations such as Kiwanis and Rotary Clubs, and government organizations including the City of Palo Alto and the City of Sunnyvale.

Highlights of accomplishments you made possible

• children's services Early Intervention, Therapy and Milestones Preschool benefit children and their families throughout San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. New in May 2015, Milestones Preschool was licensed for and expanded to be a full-day preschool in addition to a half-day program.  We also launched our collaboration with Stanford University to offer social skills classes to children with and without autism.
• family support We continue to provide after school care, respite services, and computer education classes to people of all ages so their family members can continue to work full-time and attend to other familial and personal needs.  We continued our partnership with the City of Palo Alto for a second year to manage the city's "Summer's Excellent Adventure Camp" designed for children with and without disabilities
• adult services The Adult Services program offerings continue to expand having received regional center authorization to open two new services: Tailored Day and Integrated Living, both of which offer one-to-one coaching for adults to expand their skills to live independently.  Continued partnerships with over 100 Bay Area employers ensured that we placed 40 individuals in appropriate jobs, including placements at Homewood Suites-Hilton in Palo Alto, Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Stanford University, and Safeway stores throughout the area.   We continue to provide employment assessment, job placement, and job coaching. We are proud that we now have over 400 individuals placed in jobs that utilize their skills and interest. Adult Day Activities participants also produced their first two TV shows for MidPeninsula Community Media Center, "Using our Community Connections" and "Betty Wright Aquatic Services"  to promote and educate the community about the  accomplishments, talents, and rights of people with disabilities.
• aquatic services The rehabilitation, fitness and recreation aquatic programs continue to be offered in local warm-water pools including the Timpany Center in San Jose and Channing House in Palo Alto, as well as our new Redwood City partner, Hoover Pool. We are proud and delighted to have provided swim and water safety lessons for over 400 low-income children from Redwood City and water safety education for their parents.  This special program was made possible by a generous donation from a family who believes in the importance of water safety for all.

You're sure to make an impact in 2015 and into our next 50 years!

The Abilities United Board of Directors had an extremely fruitful year.  In September it approved the Abilities United 2015-2018 Strategic Plan, which positions us to address the changing needs of people with disabilities and our community.  Specifically, our 2015-2018 goals are to

• Provide seamless transition from one service to another throughout the lifetime of participants.
• Increase Abilities United brand awareness.
• Assess the needs for redevelopment of Abilities United facilities.

I can't thank all of you enough for the diverse contributions you made to Abilities United in this past year.  Each of you, whether you are a donor, volunteer, partner, staff member, participant or long-time friend of Abilities United, truly is what makes Abilities United successful and a valued member of the local community.  All of our accomplishments are only possible because of your support and belief in this organization.  We sincerely appreciate your ongoing commitment to the people who benefit from Abilities United services.

As we begin our new fiscal year, I look forward to keeping you informed about progress at Abilities United.

Charlie Weidanz
Executive Director