When touring a Medicaid facility, a young woman who was in a wheelchair slipped Donna Goldbranson a note saying: Help me. SPARC was born from this moment more than 20 years ago because Donna knew that each person has potential and deserved a chance to learn, grow, and be seen. Every day at SPARC we celebrate human potential.
SPARC hosts centers that operate five days a week at various locations in Fairfax, Arlington, and Loudoun with staff-led programming based on a curriculum rooted in therapeutic recreation principles that consist of continued education/leisure learning, skill building, exercise, field trips, cooking, music, art, lectures, discussion groups, and more. Our SPARC clients require support with all daily living activities. Without SPARC, they are often neglected and forgotten.
As Donna realized, warehousing and ignoring people with severe and multiple disabilities is not the answer. Cultivating their interests and passions helps them to reach their potential and recognizes their humanity. To capture the vitality that makes our attendees special, we did a vision board exercise at each of our centers to find out more about their goals and aspirations or simply what makes them happy. Here are some of the responses:
- I want to stay at SPARC to see my friends
- I want to stay healthy
- I love myself just as I am
- I capture every moment
- I deserve to be happy
- I am strong and capable
- I love wildlife
- I enjoy family and life
- I want to make money, be at SPARC and find a boyfriend
- I aspire to get a dream job
- I am open to receiving love
Reading their insights and seeing the art our participants created as part of this exercise drives home the point that our participants are people. Just because high school and the supported services it provided ended for these young adults, doesn’t mean that their lives did too.
At SPARC, we create community. The energy in our classrooms and activities and the excitement that comes from learning or experiencing something new is palpable. Through community, people like Akila, Mejie, Chris, Sandy, Adam, and so many more flourish while their families have peace of mind, time to make a living, and a moment to care for themselves too.
SPARC delivers a higher-quality, inclusive day program for adults with severe disabilities at less than one-third of the cost to taxpayers than the Medicaid supported programs. More importantly, SPARC ensures that the dreams, hope, and essence that define each of our participants flourishes. They are not simply a number in an imperfect and overburdened system. Instead, SPARC members shine as we ignite their interests, encourage them to reach their potential, and help them share the sparkle that makes each of them unique. They are worthy.