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It’s been nearly five years since Greg, age 46 and diagnosed with intellectual disability, began attending a UCP Adult Day Program. At that time he was far from comfortable interacting with other people, but things have changed since then.Greg and...

Every day when I go to work, I’m surrounded by people passionate about their jobs. People whose primary goal is to produce hope and supply confidence in adults and children with disabilities. I work with people who are passionate about ensuring that others get opportunities to be all they can be and to see beyond their disabilities. Each day I view the generosity and kindness of the UCP team and see the impact their donation of time and caring can make in people’s lives.

Are you disappointed in the frenzy of consumerism on Black Friday and Cyber Monday? Now you can choose to inspire a culture of philanthropy with #GivingTuesday, a global day of giving to pay our good fortune forward!

At UCP’s 2018 Golf Classic, we asked Claudia Romero to share her story about the value of UCP Family Respite to her family. “The short answer is: UCP Family Respite means a lot to me. The long answer requires a little background,” says Claudia.

Years ago, a mom of an Adapted Physical Education student and some Special Olympians asked Monica Lepore, a Special Olympics coach, if she knew about any Inclusive Higher Education programs. Many of her Special Olympians were graduating from high school and asked why their local college, West Chester University, did not have a program for them.

After 3 years of fertility drugs, Mearl and Tina gave up on trying to get pregnant. They thought all hope was lost when suddenly, Tina was pregnant. It was a miracle! Nine months later, Tina went into labor at home and Mearl drove her to the hospital. Tina had a traumatic birthing experience. The baby’s heartbeat was lost a couple of times. The attending physician kept putting off a C-section. When the heartbeat flat-lined, the physician decided it was time for a crash C-section.

Mr. Nagle was the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Envision Pharmaceutical Holdings, the fifth largest prescription benefit managers nationally at the time, before it was acquired by the Rite Aid Corporation.

When asked, “What was it like for Ashley (32) and Allen (34), at the time of their 2 year old son, Barrett’s diagnosis”, so many things come to mind for them. Before his diagnosis, they had never heard of autism or what it was but they remember very vividly being told by their pediatrician, your son will never be like “normal” children or adults.

When Andrew was 2 years old, Noni noticed a change in his speech development compared to her first child’s behaviors. He stopped making the sounds and babbles (saying ba-ba-ba or ma-ma-ma) to begin making words. Andrew’s pediatrician sent them to a specialist who diagnosed him to be on the autism spectrum disorder.

At the age of 2 years, Lisa was diagnosed with cerebral palsy when her parents noticed she was not as flexible as other children.
Lisa did not realize she had cerebral palsy until later. “I was 10 or 11 years old and I was left out of the school’s square dancing event. I did not understand why I was being excluded. Up to that point I was just me who needed to use a walker. Even today, as an adult I still ask myself why am I being left out and excluded,” wondered Lisa.