Community Gatepath, the largest non-profit serving children and adults with disabilities in San Mateo County, reached its $5 million dollar campaign goal, thanks to a memorial gift made by the Hillsborough Auxiliary to Community Gatepath, a volunteer group of local women who have been committed to helping people with disabilities for nearly 60 years. The gift was made in memory of Mrs. Elizabeth McKee, a long time member of the Auxiliary. "This is a very special gift to our campaign and we are so fortunate to have loyal donors who even during economic challenging times support our mission," said Sheryl Young, CEO of Community Gatepath.
This is the first capital campaign for Community Gatepath, who launched the campaign in 2006 with nearly $3.5 million raised. Major donors to the campaign include: Niall P. McCarthy, son of the late former Lt. Governor Leo T. McCarthy, Lynn and Tom Kiley, Alberta and William Aldinger, Hillsborough Auxiliary to Community Gatepath, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, The Hearst Foundations, and Sand Hill Foundation among others.
The sounds of children singing, playing and learning now fill the halls of Community Gatepath’s remodeled Niall P. McCarthy Center for Children & Families. Since launching the campaign, Gatepath has doubled the number of children served at the Center. The new Center also includes a new inclusive preschool for children with and without special needs ages 2 to 5. The building was designed with emphasis on open space, tactile learning opportunities and carve outs and play spaces that promote motor development in all children. In addition to the building of the center, "Campaign for Possibilities" also provided funding to develop and launch a one-of-a-kind online interactive community and resource website for families and professionals of children with special needs.
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 their development and overall future success. Children who receive early intervention services are more successful during their school years and require less assistance later in life. "We were able to immediately address the need for services because of the initial generous support received from our Board of Directors and loyal donors," said Young.
Campaign for Possibilities is allowing 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 observational learning and forums for discussion on preferred practices.
For nearly 90 years, Gatepath has been \"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, Awareness Services, Community Employment, Social Business Enterprise Services including Landscaping, Production and Staffing Services as well as life skills, community integration and wellness activities for adults and seniors with disabilities. For more information, visit www.gatepath.org.
View the press release.
