Press
Unique Center for Children and Families Opens!
Community Gatepath® responds to regional, state, and national growing service demands for children with special needs by opening a redesigned, innovative learning center and launching a 3- year commitment filled with exciting possibilities.
Burlingame, Calif. (April 17, 2007)— The sounds of children singing, playing and learning and families gathering are now filling the halls of Community Gatepath®’s newly remodeled Center for Children and Families. On April 17, Gatepath held the official grand opening and welcomed guests to the new Center with tasty treats and tours of the facility. The Center, formerly Gatepath’s facility for services to both children and adults, is now fully dedicated to early intervention services for children ages birth to 3 and inclusive preschool learning opportunities, for children with and without disabilities ages 3 to 5. “The need for expanded services for children with special needs was imminent and our research forecasted even greater need going forward,” notes Sheryl Young, CEO of Community Gatepath®. “Furthermore, preschool slots in the County continue to be in high demand and literature on preferred learning practices reveals inclusive educational environments benefit both children with and without special needs. Expanding our services to include Learning Links, our inclusive preschool, made sense for our families and most importantly, for the entire community.”
National and local headlines continue to depict the escalating number of children diagnosed with or identified as ‘at risk’ of developmental disabilities, including speech and language delays, motor difficulties, feeding and swallowing disorders, and cognitive communication issues. Capturing media attention the past few years has been an especially sharp increase in the number of children functioning on the autism spectrum. California reports an increase of over 200% annually in autism and other Pervasive Development Disorders and according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), autism now affects 1 out of 150 children. In San Mateo County, a civil grand jury report released in July 2005, reported that the total number of autistic children in the County has doubled since 2000.
Community Gatepath®, the largest agency serving children, adults and seniors with disabilities in San Mateo County, put an immediate course of action in place to ensure cutting-edge services for the growing number of children with special needs were available without delay. Gatepath’s first phase of its expansion plan included the renovation of its 1764 Marco Polo Way facility located in Burlingame to transform the space into a dedicated family-centered facility for children and families. The creative, airy and colorful space facilitates state-of-the-art programming for children and families’ participation in a deeper interactive and more expansive way.
“Unlike many other organizations who embark on this type of building project, we were able to immediately address the need for services because of the initial support received from our Board of Directors and loyal donors,” said Young. “Everyone we approached about this project was of the same mindset as we were; waiting 3 years to fund raise and begin construction would put thousands of children at risk of not being served.”
Research shows that a child’s brain develops most dramatically in the first five years of life, making quality early intervention and education critical to a child’s development and overall future success. Additionally, children who attend quality preschools develop better emotional, intellectual and social skills that benefit them throughout school and their lives. “The inclusive preschool model benefits both children with special needs and typically developing children,” confirms Young. “When children with special needs are educated in inclusive classrooms, they demonstrate higher levels of social play and become more accustomed to initiating interactions with their peers. Research demonstrates that typically developing children in inclusive programs exhibit developmentally comparable growth as they do in non-inclusive classrooms; over time, they exhibit a more respectful awareness of the strengths of their peers who have a disability, leading to enhanced community interactions in the school years and beyond.”
At the opening celebration, Gatepath also announced the public kickoff of a $5 million dollar capital campaign; the Campaign for Possibilities. The announcement included recognition of Niall P. McCarthy, Tom and Lynn Kiley, Mrs. Richard Heimann, AT&T and other major donors to the campaign. The name of the Center was unveiled as the Niall P. McCarthy Center for Children & Families in the presence of over 150 guests. The Campaign announcement and growth of the Center’s programs generated excitement among the families, children, professional colleagues, friends and neighbors in attendance. “The Campaign for Possibilities provides Gatepath with the financial resources to leverage its services to reach many more households, not only in San Mateo County but throughout the country,” said Joel P. Friedman, board member and campaign chair. “The renovated McCarthy Center enables us to provide greatly enhanced direct services to children and their families. In addition, we are establishing online communities - - the Family Resource Center and the Knowledge Center - - that connect families and professionals with each other and disseminates preferred practice resources vetted by topic experts,” notes Friedman. “Building both Family Resource and Knowledge Centers with a comprehensive online presence empowers families and professionals to create better developmental and educational outcomes for children from birth to 5 years of age.”
To date, Gatepath has raised $3.8 million dollars, leaving 1.2 million to be raised by 2009 in order to meet the campaign’s goal. “Community Gatepath® has been providing services for over 85 years and we’ve been able to do so because of the support we continue to receive from the community and our donors,” noted Young. “This is our first major fundraising campaign and we are encouraged by the early response we’ve received.”
The Campaign for Possibilities will allow Gatepath to:
- Help more children through a state-of-the-art facility and programs that enhance the learning of both children with and without special needs;
- Support more families by expanding our onsite Family Resource Center to the internet where we can connect families and caregivers with resources, information, support and, most importantly, with each other 24 hours day and from any location in the world; and
- Share our learning with practitioners, professionals and students of early intervention and childhood development through the creation of a Knowledge Center where expertise will be shared and forums for discussion and debate will occur.
Community Gatepath® is the largest agency serving individuals with disabilities in San Mateo County and works at “Turning Disabilities Into Possibilities” by fostering hope, dignity and independence among children and adults with disabilities. Gatepath’s continuum of services includes Early Childhood Intervention, Inclusive Preschool, Community Employment, Social Business Enterprise Services including Landscaping, Production and Staffing Services as well as education, life skills, and wellness activities for adults and seniors with disabilities.
Gatepath’s Children’s Services has over 35 years of experience in early intervention services for children with special needs and is identified as the premier provider of services for children in San Mateo County. Gatepath is one of the few in the region to not have placed caps on services; many agencies have been forced to limit their children’s services due to the overwhelming demand for intervention therapies. Gatepath’s Children’s Services serves over 400 families and its Family Resource Center supports over 3,800 families and professionals.
The public is encouraged to join Gatepath’s Campaign for Possibilities. For more program or Campaign details, please call 650-259-8533 or visit www.gatepath.com.
Press Contact:
Gabrielle Jones
650-259-8532
gjones@gatepath.com
