Dance & Company announces “Dance with Me”, a dance program
specifically designed for young children with special needs.

(A repost from Dance & Company Performing Arts Studio)



About the class

During class, Dance with Me students will learn the ability to express
themselves through imagery, creativity and simple dance movements.  Katie
Lewis, Dance & Company’s Artistic Director states that “this program was
designed to help enrich the lives of children who may not have the opportunity
to dance in a traditional class.  It feels good to be able to watch the joy
on their faces each week and also know that we are impacting their lives in a
positive way.”

Dance with Me is currently offered on Tuesday’s from 4:45-5:30.  In
the fall we will be adding another Dance with Me class on
Saturday mornings at9:15am.  For more information please contact Katie
or Lisa at [email protected]!

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Miss Cecily LOVES this dance class with her friends! We are so grateful to Dance & Company for creating this unique program.  We can't say enough wonderful things about it!  Just look at the smiles - proof positive - this is so much fun!

Onwards & upwards!

Progress Blog: Mission of Giving
Written by Emily Dolton, Artist, Project Manager, Volunteer to many!

I have been blessed with working on two rooms; and they could not be more different! The first, for Toddler Max with Smith Magenis Syndrome, is about family health more than anything else. Smith Magenis is a rare deletion
on the 17th chromosome and can cause developmental delays, speech language difficulties and sleep issues. What Max lacks in communication skills, he makes up for in supreme cuteness, Hulk-like strength, and an amazing, Mission Impossible/Jason Bourne-like skill to escape from whatever device mom and dad rig up to get some much needed sleep. Max’s unusual sleep schedule, coupled by his unique escape artist qualities pose a
risk to his safety. As a result, his parents are living on “high alert” from the
combined fear and sleep deprivation.  Max’s room is all about functional security as he has many of the items the Sweet Dream Makeovers might
normally provide. 

Enter the amazing team at Bassett Furniture. Headed by Laura Cross, the team is coming up with lockable storage solutions and purposeful play ideas to keep Max occupied while the rest of the world is sleeping. Their entire staff is doing an internal funds drive to make this dream room possible. Max’s parents use Disney trips to facilitate language skills, so Bassett team member Cindy, a Disney-lover herself, is using her Disney buying power to get some sweet steals. I have created a design concept that encompasses all of Max’s favorite attractions. Ryan McDaniel, of McDaniel General Contracting is building a stellar peek-a-boo door and adding some great design elements to Emily’s mural as well. We can always count on Ryan for Creative solutions!
 
Our newest find is Shutter Guys is North County. The Head of a family owned and run business, Dave carries a wide range of shutters and unlike some shutter businesses that rep a particular brand, Dave matches the
brand to the need of the customer. In this case, a decorative shutter with a
close to the wall profile, spines on the inside, and an easily replaceable
mechanic system that holds the louvers  in place should they get damaged. Dave’s daughter is a behavioral specialist, so he understands the
needs for safety and durability in a shutter for a child with special needs. We
feel blessed to have found him!
 
The second room is for brothers Angel and Adrian. Their room has a more structural need. At six, Angel’s muscular dystrophy was exacerbated and soon he needed a motorized wheelchair to move around. Now a teen, he and brother Adrian enjoy playing video games online with kids all over the world, but they also enjoy watching and playing football. Angel is a Denver
Broncos fan and Adrian loves the Philadelphia Eagles. Dad, Tomas, is always looking for a way to make things better for his boys; and he recently removed the wall between their rooms. The carpet is each room is a different color so Shaw Contract Group and Sid’s Carpet Barn are ensuring Angel has flooring tough enough to withstand the power of his motorized wheelchair.
 
Lindbergh Schweitzer Elementary Special Education Technicians are working on accessorizing the rooms and making the boys tech connections work. We look forward to working with Dream Dinners, our partner in this makeover, for a great reveal!  - Emily Dolton

Thank you Emily for sharing your progress and for your amazing contributions for our Mission of Giving Program!

Onwards & upwards!

Guess who is talking up a storm? Our sweet little Cecily AND our angel Cason. It is so great to hear them babble to each other all day long... laka laka laka... Paco taco... Paco taco... bababla.... all of it is sweetness and they seem to really understand each other.  What are we missing?

Today Cecily was speaking on demand - with the promise of a horsie ride for every word.  We're big into motivation and if I have to run around the yard in circles for every word acting like a crazy fool I will do it every day of the week!  Cecily said the following for each ride: Dad, animal, horse, go, book and ball.  The beauty about this is she knew what she was doing and what she was saying and she knew that for each word she would be rewarded! I love this list because the sounds are very different and each word was pitch perfect!

We are so proud of our little babbling angel.  Cason is not too far behind.  He will parrot just about anything but he loves to try and copy Noah the best.  He is always happy to have him home on the weekend.  Noah is always on the go - so we're grateful when he can cool his jets long enough to hang out with us at home!  He'd prefer to be skating or playing soccer with his friends these days and he is just growing up so quickly!

This weekend we had a lovely 4th of July holiday with the family.  We skipped the parties and bbqs in favor of just hanging out and keeping it small.  We really loved the family time and it was much needed.  Life is going too fast and it is important to take time and just huddle down together and remember what's important! FAMILY!

Noah caught his best waves ever this weekend and Daddy was so proud.  He's proud of all of his kids but Noah is obviously at that stage now where they can just be boys together and they pile in the truck with their boards (surf or skate) and off they go!  I am sometimes admittedly jealous... as I stay behind... but I LOVE that they are buddies and that they have a blast together!  And lucky for me Noah still likes Mommy to tuck him into bed and read him his book. 

Onwards and upwards!

Our Mission of Giving Program that kicks off this August would not be possible without the generous support from The UPS Store and The UPS Foundation. We recently earned a grant for 12,500 dollars that will enable us to complete 12 room makeovers for children with developmental disabilites in San Diego.  It is because of the generous support from this wonderful organization that Cecily's Closet has been able to grow over the last 24 months. 

We are so grateful for the trust they have placed in us to honor our mission and spread hope and love to children with special needs in San Diego.  Working wiith employees from The UPS Store has been such a joy and a blessing!  Pictured here are two of our most hard-working and dedicated volunteers!  Julie B., and Christina H., are always volunteering to take on more and more!  Their leadership skills have enabled us to scale our room makeover program..  They have introduced us to amazing business partners and the families we work with are always quick to credit these two wonderful women for their tireless pursuit for excellence!  (And... they are quite handy with the power tools and leave volunteers like me in awe!)  We're also so grateful for our Cheif Seamstress volunteer, Beverly.  She has sewn more than 295 belly bands! Now that is simply amazing!  One thing is for sure - we would NEVER ship or print with anyone else!

Our Mission of Giving Program kicks off August 8th and thanks to The UPS Store we'll be able to transform eight spaces for eight amazing children over eight days!  Each team will be given $800 dollars that they can bolster if they like to support the needs of the family!  Participating companies include: PaintGreen, Bassett Furniture, Mattress Discounters Direct, Dream Dinners, The UPS Store, Qualcomm, Websense, Maxim Healthcare, Eventful, Inc., and Children's Physician's Medical Group. 

Participating artists include: Inside Emily's Dolton's Head, Grace Ann Piano, Hanna's Murals, Climbing the Wall, Sweet Delisa, Arielle Namenyi, Anna Guillotte and there is room for one more! 

If you are interested in helping, please let us know.  We are seeking professional photographers to capture the reveal of each makeover. 

Thank you The UPS Store! You are helping us make a difference one family at a time!

Onwards and upwards!