Provide Scholarships for Adults with Disabilities

We believe everyone should have the opportunity to participate in their community so SPARC empowers adults with disabilities to live as engaged community members. One way we practice our belief is by giving back to the Northern Virginia community where we live.

We contribute in many ways and one of our favorite activities is scheduled again this week. We sort fresh fruits and vegetables for a food pantry!  You have probably seen that many food donation organizations have to rely on shelf-stable foods that won't go bad while being stored. That means that people who are hungry often receive a lot of pasta, canned foods, peanut butter, and similarly packaged food. And when people are hungry, any kind of food is good.

Our friends at St. Anne's Episcopal Church in Reston add to that food by getting 40 and 50 pound bags of fresh food--carrots, corn, potatoes, onions, and other produce that helps people get more nutrients from what they eat. Once a month, they bring huge bags of food to us and we sort them into packages for individual families. St. Anne's tells us they feed over 100 families every month with the help we give them.

We love helping our neighbors just like they help us. If we all continue working together when someone needs a little extra help, whether it's food or scholarship money or a place to live and work, then we become a society that cares for itself. 

And we're doing our part. That's why we ask that you help fund our scholarship program.

Our rates are as low as possible, and many of the things we use are donated by individuals or companies. A recurring gift of $30 pays for a class session teaching life skills or adult education. Just $100 makes it possibe for someone to attend SPARC in their community for an entire week. Can you imagine having opportunities in lifelong learning and community inclusion for only $20 a day?

Please help us help others.We'll keep sorting the produce for those who are hungry in our community. And we'll keep participating in our community in many other ways with your help.

SPARC members are ending 2015 on a high note because 2016 features one of our biggest expansions ever.

Our learning and community inclusion goals are unique. We pay with through a low membership fee and through grants and charitable donations. We believe that everyone has the right to a fulfilling life.  Not everyone always has the resources to  pay for those services, which is why we ask for your help.

Just $100 pays for someone to attend SPARC in their community for an entire week. A recurring gift of $30 provides a class session about life skills or education skills. We'll even bundle individual gifts together to maximize their impact.

Besides lifelong learning, our members have begun practicing adapted yoga and mindfulness. Both help someone whose physical world has other constraints. 

We are also working on raising money for art supplies and buying a tabletop convection oven. The oven will help us practice independent living skills like healthy cooking.  But we can't show someone how to cook for themselves if they can't attend SPARC that week.

That's why your gift today is so important.

We have opened a total of three facilities in Virginia. We want to continue working with communities to help adults with disabilities. To do that, we need your help today.