Charles River AR 2021 Printer Singles - Flipbook - Page 5
Your Impact on Adults
Collaborating with Curry College
Day Services
In 2017, a former student who was working
at Charles River recommended that Curry
College professor Elizabeth Carey contact
Charles River Center to discuss internship
opportunities. As a result, an internship
program was developed to provide Curry
College students with the opportunity to
gain experience working with individuals
with disabilities, as well as providing Day
Services participants with the opportunity
to experience the Curry College community.
Initially Day Services participants traveled
to Curry college, partnered with a Curry
College student mentor, and participated
in activities, to explore creativity and self
through art. Afterwards, the students and
Day Service participants would go to lunch
to socialize and experience college life.
When the COVID-19 virus forced the closing
of in-person activities at both Charles River
Center and Curry College, Professor Carey
and the students at Curry College recognized that being isolated and having a
change in your routine can be very stressful.
After meeting with Charles River Center,
Curry College students began running
weekly hour-long workshops via Zoom
for multiple Day Services participants.
Pre-ETS program
In 2019, Charles River Center partnered with
Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission
(MRC) to launch the Pre-ETS program.
The goal of the program is to provide
meaningful and informative educational
activities to help students ages 14 to 22
become better prepared for their future
goals of employment or post-secondary
education.
In April 2020, the program transitioned
successfully to virtual programming, even
though the program was challenged with
coordinating class times and utilizing a new
platform. Students and their families were
very flexible and understanding during this
transition time. In addition to transitioning
the program to a virtual platform, Charles
River purchased the Virtual Job Shadow
platform made available for technology from
MRC. Virtual Job Shadow includes hundreds
of “day in the life” career videos, Q&A
sessions, and access to full career profiles.
Growth of the Pre-ETS program continues
with now 50 students from 14 different
schools. Looking ahead – Internships, both
in-person and virtual, are being offered
to students who have completed the
Pre-ETS classes.
As we look to the future, we hope to
continue to partner with Curry College,
whether remotely, at the college or at
Charles River Center, to provide programs
on health and wellness, music, dance, and
art. We are grateful to Professor Carey and
the Curry College students, who remained
committed to the collaboration during
these uncertain times.
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