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We are incredibly excited to announce our partnership with Ursinus College as part of our “Opening Doors on Campus” initiative. Join us every Monday from 12-2 pm in the Myrin Library Lounge for our community-building, inclusive volunteer projects! Too often, students with disabilities watch their brothers and sisters, neighbors and friends go off to college, never having the opportunity to benefit from campus life themselves. While there are exciting, new opportunities for some students with disabilities to attend college, young people with more significant disabilities are still left out. We are partnering with Ursinus College to make a meaningful place for people of all abilities to engage on campus with students, faculty and staff through volunteerism.Among other service activities, we will be running the Sleeping Mat Project. The Sleeping Mat Project is an innovative, fun activity with widespread community appeal. We engage volunteers in recycling plastic grocery bags into sleeping mats for people experiencing homelessness in our community. Each mat recycles between 700-800 plastic bags and provides an opportunity for people of all abilities to be providers of service to others. The project offers comfort to our community members without homes or a comfortable place to sleep. This project represents a diverse collaboration between multiple community organizations. Local school districts, agencies serving adults with disabilities, senior groups and faith communities will all volunteer their time with us. Agencies doing street outreach and the local police departments distribute the mats to those in need.This one project has the power to embrace inclusion, environmental awareness and homeless outreach. It represents a powerful way for us to show that everyone, no matter what challenges they face, can be seen and celebrated as a valuable provider of service in our shared community. Your support would empower us to sustain this established and successful project model, multiplying our impact. Thank you for supporting this exciting new initiative, and thank you to Ursinus College for being an incredible community partner and game-changer in our shared community!

Recently, one of our young adults with autism demonstrated an incredible ability to reduce stigma, simply by being himself and sharing his passion for Disney. Jesse attends our inclusive Sleeping Mat Project each Thursday morning at the Indian Valley Public Library. He is an expert in all things Disney, always singing songs from Aladdin and Little Mermaid as he works. He can tell you when each movie was released in high definition. He knows every word and scene. It’s incredibly impressive! On one Thursday, a group of young children (without disabilities) who are home-schooled joined our volunteer activity. With little experience interacting with neuro-diverse peers, they were understandably timid and reluctant to engage. They watched Jesse’s rocking and constant movement with wide eyes.He approached the young children on his own and asked, “What’s your favorite Disney movie?” One little girl looked away and answered quietly, “I like Beauty and the Beast.” Immediately Jesse began singing “Be our Guest... Be our Guest”... Broadway-style! The little looked up from the ground with a big smile. Other children started sharing their favorite movies and favorite scenes. When it was time to leave the parents of the young children and Jesse’s staff person couldn’t get them out the door! Too often, people withautism are discouraged from talking about their favorite things. The paperwork in their “files” says things like, “He is obsessed” and “She should be redirected from “perseverating” on this topic.” We disagree. Jesse’s passion built a bridge. Jesse’s passion reduced stigma. Jesse’s passion taught a whole group of children that what we have in common is far greater than what makes us different.

Do you know someone who went off to college last month?  Maybe you went shopping for new notebooks and pens for yourself, or for your son or daughter.  Did you see all of those fun Facebook posts with car trunks jammed with dorm room decorations? Back to School time is full of excitement!  But only for some of us.  For people with more complex disabilities, they watch their brothers and sisters, neighbors and friends go off to college, but they are left behind. Integrate for Good is changing that, and you can help!  We are creating inclusive volunteer programs on college campuses where people of all abilities will gather together for engaging, weekly volunteer events.  Your contribution will have a profound impact: $50 pays for modified tools to allow someone who only has use of one arm to participate in making lunches for those living in poverty $100 buys a reusable wooden loom to make dozens of sleeping mats for people experiencing homelessness in our community $250 pays for activity costs for a weekly volunteer program on campus $1,000 sponsors one teenager with autism to gain valuable experience as an Integrate for Good program leader With your help, we can make sure college campuses are places where people of all abilities belong.  Thank you for making a difference with us!Donate

Offering Volunteer Time Off (VTO) hours is an emerging trend in employee benefits.  The benefits of VTO are numerous. One of the biggest values of VTO is that of employee recruitment and retention.  PricewaterhouseCoopers conducted a survey and the results were that “59% of Millennials gravitated towards companies with pronounced Corporate Social Responsibility programs.”  For retention, the value is even higher, “74% of employees say their job is more fulfilling when given the opportunity to make a positive impact at work.”Companies also see a benefit in camaraderie across departments and company hierarchy. Working together towards a common goal builds these interdepartmental relationships. Also, by playing towards strengths unseen in a regular office setting, employers have a chance to discover untapped leadership skills and completely unknown skill sets of employees. Finally, your company’s brand image is boosted by the view of its involvement in the community.  Contact us to see how Integrate for Good can help your company with VTO in exciting and innovative ways! → Read the full article here →

Teri Black and her family experienced the most devastating and unimaginable loss, the loss of their son, David. Before David died, he inspired Teri to get involved in providing care and support to people experiencing homelessness in our local community, and in bringing an end to the stigma attached to the disease of addiction. David introduced Teri to a wonderful group of people who were beginning to recycle plastic bags to make mats for people in the community without a place to sleep. This initiative later became known as the Sleeping Mat Project. Teri shared, “It would have been easy to just stop everything when we lost David and I did think about that for a quick minute, but staying involved was my way of keeping his memory alive and out there – of making him count.” David will always count. His influence continues to impact hundreds of people as Integrate for Good partners with Teri and the Sleeping Mat Project to continue the work David loved so much. By making the project accessible to people with disabilities, we draw strength from David’s memory, embracing our shared values of inclusion and belonging.  David’s legacy is woven into every stitch of every mat we make. With each mat that we weave as an inclusive community, we affirm that we care about creating a stronger community where everyone counts and no one is left behind or alone. Integrate for Good is incredibly grateful for the generous contribution made in David’s memory. His spirit will fuel our important work forward at the Elmwood Park Zoo as we creatively teach countless children of all abilities about conservation through the Sleeping Mat Project. Integrate for Good is truly privileged with the honor of celebrating David’s life and carrying on his legacy.  We deeply thank David’s family for this generous donation in his memory.

Is your company committed to giving back to your local community? Integrate for Good would love to partner with you!

Are you looking for an exciting way to connect with your local community, grow your professional network and share your experience and expertise, all while making a difference?

We are so excited to announce Integrate for Good's innovative collaboration with Temple University, Gwynedd Mercy University and Montgomery County Community College.

We invite you to help us light our launch!Now that we are a recognized 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization, we are raising funds to launch strong!Every donation helps us to empower more students and adults with disabilities by offering engaging workshops and creating innovative digital portfolios to highlight the ability in every disability.

As soon as Eileen Kupersmith heard about Integrate for Good, she was an immediate supporter! Eileen has been instrumental in establishing the Sleeping Mat Project at our first faith community, Congregation Or Hadash in Fort Washington.