2023 Summer Newsletter

Dear Friends,

We hope you are having a wonderful summer! It has been a very exciting time here at Las Trampas. We continually strive to improve and innovate on our gold-standard programming, and we are seeing many fruits of our efforts!

NEW VANS!

Our new wheelchair vans have arrived! Thank you to our 2023 Spring Gala donors, the William A. Kerr Foundation, and MobilityWorks for making this dream a reality. Las Trampas has been greatly in need of reliable, safe wheelchair accessible vans, and we are excited to provide our participants with the safety and security that they deserve when traveling. Joey and Kim, pictured, were thrilled to check out one of the new vans: Kim says the vans are “rad” and Joey says “we’ve never had a van like this!”

RESIDENTIAL HOME CONVERSION

As our residents reach senior age, we are required by law to send them to a Residential Center for Elderly (RCFE) facility. We just recently relicensed Sheila House to a facility for elder care, so that our residents can continue to live in the home they love! We also welcomed our newest resident of Sheila House, Barbara, and the home is once again at full capacity.

D.I.S.C.O.V.E.R. PROGRAM

Our Adult Day Program (ADP) recently implemented DISCOVER, which is a new and innovative program that gives participants the opportunity to choose their own classes, much like in a junior college. Choices of class include: Art, Health & Wellness, Life Skills, Adventurers/Explorers, and Volunteer & Occupations.

  • Our Art Class has been very busy creating pieces in our beautiful art room. You can see some of their art hanging in the Las Trampas Gallery in the main lobby across from the elevators.
  • Our Occupations group has begun weekly custodial work here on campus and are learning how to use Paycom to record their time worked. Participant Melissa, who is on the autism spectrum, says that she gains a lot of self-esteem and pride from being given directions, following those directions, and earning spending money through Las Trampas’ janitorial program.
  • Our Volunteer Group recently volunteered with the Ladybug program making personal care bags, went to parks to pick up trash, and are exploring other volunteer opportunities.

TERRY R. HAWS LEGACY GIFT

The Haws Family was saddened to announce the passing of Terry R. Haws, a dedicated advocate and Founding Father of Las Trampas, on March 19th 2023. Terry will be dearly missed, but his legacy will live on every time we enter the Nina Haws Community Hall or drink from one of the Haws water fountains at the new Las Trampas campus. On Friday, July 28th, Terry’s younger two daughters, Sallie Haws and Amy Peck, presented Las Trampas with Terry’s $1.35M Legacy Gift. With his incredibly generous Legacy Gift, he will support our financial stability for years to come. He is leaving a legacy of kindness, generosity, and commitment to supporting our friends and neighbors with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Thank you to everyone who showed up to honor Terry’s legacy, and the impact that it will have on our community for years to come!

Thank you for your continued support for our friends and neighbors with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We couldn’t do it without you!

Daniel Hogue

Executive Director

Click here to view our full summer newsletter!