Transitioning to adulthood can be a difficult time for everyone, and it can be especially difficult for youth with disabilities. Once youth leave school or turn 22-24 years old, services cut off that had been in place their whole life, and youth and families are left trying to figure out what to do next. In order […]
Month: April 2013
Do you know anyone who might be interested and qualified to work for PYD? Check out our job openings and consider working at our small but dynamic nonprofit organization that serves hundreds of youth in the Greater Boston area each year.
On Monday, April 8th, the Boston Bruins Foundation generously invited the Mentor Match program to the TD Garden in order to help run the 50/50 raffle at that night’s game. The idea was that Mentor Match volunteers would help sell 50/50 tickets for part of the game, and half the money raised would go to support the […]
Last week, PYD’s National Center kicked off the second year of the three year “Inclusive Fitness for Youth” Initiative, funded by the Boston Foundation. Some readers might remember that in 2012 — the initiative’s first year — PYD worked with the South Boston Boys and Girls Club. This year, PYD selected the Boys and Girls Club […]
The Springfield branch of Making Healthy Connections visited American International College on Saturday, March 30th for MHC’s annual event focused on nutrition. At the event, youth were offered a hands-on opportunity to cook healthy recipes in an accessible kitchen with Occupational Therapy students from American International College. The event was such a success, it was even featured on […]
Recently in the “Chronicles for Evidence Based Mentoring” — an online source for sharing new findings and ideas about youth mentoring — there was an article written that highlighted PYD’s recent research on the benefits of mentoring for youth with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. The article was written by Marty Martinez, Executive Director of the Massachusetts […]
Nancy J. Bazanchuk serves as our Youth Leadership Forum (YLF) Facilitator & Coordinator. Nancy is a longtime PYD mentor and has worked with PYD as a consultant and collaborator for over 15 years as the MHC Springfield Youth Group Facilitator. She served as CHD’s Disability Resources Program Director for over 18 years, and is well known in the […]
April is Autism Awareness Month, and we focused the resources in our monthly newsletter to reflect the needs of this population. But we know that we also have many participants who do not fall on the Autism Spectrum. Because of this, we have made the resources in our monthly blog post more diverse in order […]
Welcome to National Autism Awareness Month! Started back in the 1970s by the Autism Society, Autism Awareness Month has long been a chance to educate the public about autism and the challenges faced by those in the autism community. It coincides with the United Nation’s World Autism Awareness Day, which takes place every year on […]