2017 has been quite a year for The REC! From continuously taking in new clients at all of our centers, to hosting our annual events and opening a new center we were very busy this year! We are always aiming to provide the best ABA services to our clients. Let’s take a look back at 2017…
Touch-a-Truck
In honor of Autism Awareness month, in April we hosted our 4th Annual Touch-a-Truck event which was also our biggest event to date! We had over 1000 people in attendance and over 20 different organizations who helped us put on the event. This sensory-friendly event let kids interact with various trucks and vehicles for a few hours. It was a perfect spring day and the sun was shining to welcome the Peabody community to The REC.
Summer Programing
We had over 100 clients attend our summer programing sessions this past summer. We hosted a different theme during each week of the 12 week summer program including a special Solar Eclipse celebration!
Staff Summer Outing
This year the staff was treated to a fun evening exploring Boston for the annual summer staff outing. The REC recreated their own game of the Amazing Race followed by a night of socializing at the Living Room Restaurant. It was a fun night of friendly competition and a great time to celebrate the hard work everyone had put in during the summer.
Halloween Party
The Sensory Friendly Halloween Party was once again a hit in Peabody! Kids were able to practice their trick-or-treating skills before Halloween night. Face painting and Balloons by Brian were once again a big hit!
New Chelmsford REC location
One of our biggest accomplishments this year was the opening of our new Chelmsford Center on 248 Mill Rd! The center is up and running and taking new clients. A new area of focus at this center is adult programming and developing a wide range of work skills for young adults. We are eager to develop relationships with area businesses and immerse our clients into the community.
What’s Next?
The REC is excited to continue to grow its programming in 2018!
With the launch of our new Chelmsford Center and the new adult services component, we have developed the CREATE Program. CREATE stands for – Community and Recreational Experiences For Adults and Teens. The CREATE program is the life skills division of The Recreational Education Center. This division of the REC is a comprehensive clinic-based program based on the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis for individuals ages 16 through young adult. The CREATE Program will provide a safe and supportive environment with an emphasis on job skills, functional life skills development, building independence and other creative learning experiences across a wide range of environments.
As you might have heard, we will also be opening a bakery in the Chelmsford Center called Especially Sweet Needs! Especially Sweet Needs will provide an opportunity to clients from our adult program to use the skills they learned at The REC and apply them at our cupcake shop! Renovations are underway as we speak so be sure to continue checking back!
We are looking forward to an exciting 2018 and are excited to be able to continue to provide ABA services to our local communities! See you next year!
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