Because YOU Care

Read all about how generous donations impact Woods!

Our Donors Light Up the Lives of People with Disabilities

Thanks to our donors, we accomplished so much over the past year. Read on to learn how gift(s) impacted the lives of more than 650 people with intellectual disabilities, brain injury, and behavioral challenges –

From Hospitalization to Greater Independence

This year, donations to Woods Greatest Need helped to support the expansion of services in the community, including the creation of Woods Community Services (WCS), which provides people with intellectual disabilities and severe behavioral challenges with a home in the community,

access to outpatient mental health care, medical care, and recreational supports.

G.K. was the first individual served by WCS. Once withdrawn and prone to explosive bursts of anger, G.K. suffered a one-year hospitalization due to a lack of providers able to treat his challenging behaviors. State, county, and managed behavioral health officials brought G.K.’s predicament to Woods’ attention and suggested a collaborative effort to create and fund a group home with specific, person-centered supports to serve G.K.’s needs. Woods stepped up to the challenge by creating WCS.

Less than one year after G.K’s arrival, his success has been astounding! He now lives a rewarding, active life, participating in recreational activities, enjoying workouts at Planet Fitness, cooking his meals, and planning his daily schedule. He has also developed meaningful relationships with his neighbors and local businesses. In fact, G.K. has made so much progress; he is working towards competitive employment and is learning skills that help him cope appropriately and respond positively to stressors - skills that will allow him to live a semi-independent life.

“G.K.’s successful transition into community living is a testament to our highly trained and committed Behavior Support Staff who’ve given him lifelong tools to live a deeply meaningful life,” said Monica Moser, Executive Director of WCS. “It’s a vision we’re all working toward together.”

There are many other adults like G.K. in Pennsylvania who can’t find an appropriate placement because their challenges are too severe to be served in a traditional group home. And WCS is answering their call by opening a second home to support two males in their early 20s with complex behavioral challenges. A third home, which will be staffed with Certified Nursing Assistants, will open later this summer to support two individuals with medical complexities.

In addition to the homes, WCS was recently awarded a contract to develop a specialized outpatient program that will provide mental health services for individuals with intellectual disabilities and co-occurring mental health disorders. The new outpatient center will be located on Woods’ main campus and will provide services for Woods’ residents and members of the Bucks County community.

Services will include mental health counseling, drug, and alcohol counseling, psychiatry, nurse navigation, allied therapies, and mobile therapy. The program is scheduled to open in Fall 2022.

Thanks to donors' support, WCS is just one example of how Woods is creating more choices for individuals that support their health, safety, and well-being.

Chip the Goat says

THANK YOU

Last year, our recreation and maintenance departments created a number of meaningful outdoor activities to keep all residents safe and engaged during the pandemic.

They also started a new, year-round animal-assisted therapy program, building upon Woods’ former summer equestrian program. With an animal therapy specialist, residents and day students engage in activities with barnyard animals like mini-alpacas, goats, chickens, rabbits, and other animals.

The gifts during Woods’ Giving Tuesday campaign last November

were used to support the construction of a barn, which now serves as the animals’ new home. The barn also makes it possible for clients to engage in animal-assisted therapy activities during the colder months.

Donations have made it possible for clients to enjoy this special program, and they visit the barnyard frequently to work with and ride the horses. For example, students recently watched the alpacas get sheared, and they collected the fibers to use for arts and crafts. They also helped feed, clean, and care for the animals, as well as studied their life cycles.

Birds, Butterflies, Bugs – and YOU!

Thanks to our corporate partners who support BOOST through the Educational Improvement Tax Credit program (EITC), our students are thriving in an after-school program that teaches them Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (STEAM) skills and positive behaviors. BOOST focuses on educational improvement in innovative ways to help K-12 students with special needs gain the academic, behavioral, social, and vocational skills they need to reach their fullest potential.

Donations to the nature trail project also made it possible to offer opportunities for fresh air, exercise, and open-air learning by paving the trail and outdoor classroom area on Woods’ campus. This has made it more accessible to students in wheelchairs and those with mobility challenges. Students can now enjoy the trail and outdoor classroom in all kinds of weather, thanks to a covered area and a fully accessible tree house.

Our Call for Secret Santas Was Resoundingly Answered!

Thanks to all our friends and families for being Secret Santas for our residents last holiday season.

Our supporters fulfilled their wish lists with donations and generosity - 1,176 of them!

We also thank members of the Northeast Riders Motorcycle Club, along with Santa himself, who paraded through Woods’ campus on their motorcycles and delivered holiday gifts for residents. The gifts included toys, games, personal care products, craft activities, and clothing.

Everyone truly made the holidays special for our residents.

Because of Supporters, Woods’ Staff Get Recognition and Training

Thanks to all our families for giving to the Employee Recognition Fund, which acknowledges and honors the hard work of our staff.

Donations to this fund supported special recognition awards for select staff, and holiday gift cards for all employees. Woods also honored staff with numerous activities across all three shifts during Direct Support Professionals week in September 2021.

Woods offers a range of employee engagement activities throughout the year, including higher education opportunities and specialized training. Grants made possible one such training by the Beck Institute, which has expertise in Recovery-Oriented Cognitive Therapy, an approach that fosters an understanding of the origin and impact of trauma. Woods expects the workshops to strengthen the knowledge base of staff and to better train them to support the individuals they serve. Woods plans to roll out the training to more staff in the future.

One Family’s Journey

For our family, the years leading up to December 2015 were filled with turbulence, exhaustion, chaos, and endless fears for our son Scott. He was diagnosed with multiple severe behavioral disorders that we had tried to manage for years. Even though we did our best, we had to face the harsh reality that our child was in crisis.

At age 16, Scott’s uncontrollable, threatening behavior led to frequent hospital visits, and we knew we needed to seek professional care and placement outside our home. Sadly, safety for Scott and those around him was constantly threatened, and we were at a loss. As parents of a special needs child, we feel failure and guilt, thinking there is always something more we can do to help - we searched with hope for any possible answer.

We found the answer at Woods Services!

Scott arrived at Woods in December 2015. From our initial consultation, we felt immediate relief knowing that Scott would receive everything he needs. If he could no longer live with us, we knew we found the best and safest place for our son.

Scott has made tremendous progress over the past seven years. Woods offers the therapies, supervision, education, and quality of care all wrapped in one that we can’t provide at home. We visit Scott bi-weekly, either at home or at Woods. The experiences we now have with him are positive, and we are celebrating this past year as he has earned his diploma and graduated high school at Woods!

The impact that our donations make is greatly reflected in our son’s care. All of Woods’ fundraising campaigns support the best quality of life for those it serves - we love to see the exciting things happening and how our donations make a difference. Whether it’s a medical or therapy need, a new swimming pool, school renovations, technology, or the new dental clinic, we want to make a difference in every way we can.

“Our bi-weekly visits with Scott no longer present the hardships of years past. This is all a result of Woods Services. The true testament is really from our son – Scott wakes up on Sunday mornings with great anticipation and happiness knowing he is returning “home” to Woods. We are so grateful for that – now we can just breathe!”

Our Supporters Made the Run for Woods a Banner Year in 2022

Thanks to our donors, and a record-breaking number of sponsors, the 8th Annual Run for Woods, presented by the Faulkner-Ciocca Dealerships, raised more than $263,000 - the largest amount ever for this event!

Unrestricted gifts to the Run support all areas of our programs and give us the flexibility to allocate resources to current priorities.

While the weather relentlessly rained on Woods’ parade that day, our residents, staff, and the greater Langhorne community kept running, walking, and wheeling along the course.

A beautiful ceremony kicked off the event, where PA State Senator Tommy Tomlinson was awarded the Woods Services Humanitarian Award. Attendees also witnessed our resident, Whit Park, receive an award for being the highest individual fundraiser for the Run, a tribute to his mother, who had recently passed away.

We look forward to the next Run in May 2023 when we anticipate once again welcoming 1,000+ people in-person, along with long-distance virtual participants.We hope to see you there!

A Special Announcement …

We are excited to announce that Woods is partnering with the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, one of the leading dental schools in the country, to transform Woods’ dental clinic into a new satellite treatment center and residency program. This will bring Penn Dental faculty and post-graduate dental students directly to Woods to provide enhanced and leading-edge dental treatment to Woods’ residents. A renovation is underway to expand the number of operatories and to make the waiting area more warm and welcoming. The project will enhance dental services for our residents as Penn’s dentists will be able to perform procedures that would have required a visit to a specialist for treatment. This expansion of services will be less disruptive for our residents, further enhancing their quality of life.

We’ve received a challenge match from a generous donor that will match all gifts in support of this project dollar for dollar. If you’d like to support the dental clinic renovation, you can donate online at www.woods.org/dentaldonor.

To our donors who helped light up so many lives this year…

Thank you!