Students participated in the 2nd Annual Vanguard Penny War to benefit pediatric cancer research and Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF). ALSF, based in Wynnewood, PA, was founded by Alexandra “Alex” Scott, a childhood cancer patient who started a lemonade stand to raise money for cancer research and who believed that everyone has the power to make a difference.

Students gathered for an assembly on May 8 to hear from ALSF representatives and from Cameron Mathes, a 14-year-old childhood cancer survivor. They were joined by Renee Frugoli, the mother of another childhood cancer hero, who told her story. The students in attendance had the opportunity to ask questions and share their own stories. Michelle Heary, One-to-One Aide, organized the fundraiser and the event.

Students presented the ALSF representatives with a check for $400, which will be used to help fund critical medical research. 

Join us for next year’s Community Day – Saturday, May 3, 2014!
 

VFES Community Day 2013 from VFESMalvern on Vimeo.

News Release

Submitted by: Carla Zajac, VFES Director of Development, 610-296-6725 x342 or cazajac@vfes.net

Malvern, PA….Local families with children with special needs are invited to enjoy a day of free family fun at Valley Forge Educational Services’ 2^nd Annual Community Day on May 4, 2013 from 11:00am-3:00pm. Special visits from legislators Sen. Andy Dinniman (PA Senate-District 19) and Rep. Warren Kampf (PA House-District 157) will round out the festivities.

The event will offer more than 30 activities geared to children of all ages, interests and abilities, including face painting, an inflatable slide, dunking machine, and art and music activities led by the staff and students of The Vanguard School. A program of VFES, The Vanguard School serves students with exceptionalities including autism spectrum disorders, neurological impairments and related social-emotional difficulties.

All activities, including lunch, will be offered to families free of charge.

“Community Day is a special opportunity for our VFES families and families from the surrounding areas to come together to enjoy our beautiful campus and a wide variety of arts activities, games, festival fun and food,” said Grace Fornicola, Executive Director of VFES. “Families with children with special needs face unique challenges and we recognize that. Community Day is about giving families a chance to socialize and have fun in an accepting and inclusive environment.”

Community Day is supported in part by the generosity of sponsors: Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, Wawa, ING Financial Partners, and Ruggiero Law Offices, LLC.

Last year’s first-ever Community Day at VFES drew more than 300 guests to campus.

Community Day is one of many ways in which VFES supports children and young adults with special needs and their families. In addition to its school-based programs, VFES also offers summer programs for unique learners, therapeutic preschool programs, parent education programs, and professional development for educators.

About Valley Forge Educational Services:

For more than 50 years, Valley Forge Educational Services has been dedicated to preparing children and young adults with special needs to realize their potential as contributing members of the community. Through its programs – The Vanguard School, Vanguard Transition Center, the Luma Center™ for Development and Learning and Summer Matters™ – VFES offers a wide variety of educational services focused on guiding learners to independence. Programs range from school-based and summer programs to post high school (18-21) transition skills programming to therapeutic services, professional development and clinical consultation.  www.vfes.net.

Ms. Zajac has extensive experience in fundraising and marketing in the nonprofit sector. Before joining VFES, she was the development coordinator at Quest Therapeutic Services in West Chester, where she managed a capital campaign and solicited funds to benefit children with special needs. She previously was Assistant Director of Development at Bryn Mawr Rehabilitation Hospital in Malvern. She holds an M.B.A. with a concentration in marketing from The Pennsylvania State University and a B.A. from Franklin and Marshall College.

In her role as Director of Development, Ms. Zajac leads all VFES fundraising efforts including annual giving, grantwriting, and major gifts.

“Social skills” means many things to many people. Using manners and treating other people well is often referred to as “good social skills.” Others refer to social skills as how friendly someone is or how well he or she get along with others.

Some children are just shy or may have difficulty with attention and self-regulation and therefore miss subtle social cues like physical gestures, facial expressions or even vocal intonations. Many children have a really great vocabulary but have difficulty using their language skills to express their needs or wants. Still others have challenges in organizing their language to tell a story in sequence or ask questions.

All of these affect a student’s ability to socially interact. Challenges in these areas often cause anxiety and a decrease in social participation.

At The Luma Center we understand that children can have social challenges for a variety of reasons, so we screen all new students to determine what area of social functioning a student is having difficulty with. We feel it is very important to identify the underlying challenge. Our process helps us target the specific skill that is interfering with social interactions through a social skills group planned to support that development. All of our social skills groups are led by experienced occupational therapists and speech and language pathologists.

We offer social skills groups for children 3 to 12 years old. Group goals vary by age and need but may include:

• Improving awareness of self and others
• Using appropriate language skills to communicate
• Increasing social participation in a group activity
• Initiating and improving conversations

If you are interested in registering your child for a social skills group beginning in January 2013, call The Luma Center (610.296.6725 x308) to set up a time for a screening or email Nancy Allard, Director, at naallard@vfes.net.