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Student Spotlight: How Ma'Kayla Unlocked Communication and Progress at Connections

Ma’Kayla, a vibrant 9-year-old girl in the 4th grade at Connections Education Center, has faced significant challenges early in life. As a toddler, she attended a home daycare where she fit in well with other children and was learning to speak. However, almost overnight, Ma’Kayla changed from an engaged girl to an isolated child consumed by frustration.

Having lost her ability to communicate, Ma’Kayla began demonstrating extreme behaviors such as destructive tantrums and aggressive outbursts. She began resisting school, and ordinary tasks — like walking into the classroom — became monumental struggles. Soon, the daycare informed her parents that Ma’Kayla could no longer attend, leaving them desperately seeking a solution for their young daughter’s care and education.

See how things changed when she came to Connections.

Don't Miss this Milestone Celebration!

The 2025 Connections Gala is days away on Saturday, February 8, and we want you to be part of this memorable celebration marking 10 Years of Transformation at our school!

Enjoy an incredible evening of dinner, dancing and time with community leaders as we celebrate the progress we've made with your support and look forward to an exciting future. Get tickets today!

Connections Selected to Compete in the 2025 Great Charity Challenge!

We’re thrilled to announce that Connections High School and Vocational Center has been selected to participate in the 2025 Great Charity Challenge, sponsored by Fidelity Investments! This exciting equestrian event pairs local charities with riding teams to compete for a share of more than $2 million in charitable donations.

We’re calling on our Connections family and friends to join us for an incredible evening to cheer on Team Connections!

Event Details:

📅 Date: Saturday, February 1, 2025

⏰ Time: Doors open at 6 p.m.; Opening Announcements at 6:30 p.m.

📍 Location: Wellington International

This free, family-friendly event is packed with fun activities for all ages, including face painting, a petting zoo, delicious food vendors, and much more. Plus, you’ll experience the thrill of the competition while supporting Connections and other incredible local charities!

Parking Information:

• Free event parking: 13500 Southshore Blvd., Wellington, FL (Shuttles begin at 5 p.m.)
• Complimentary parking for pass holders or handicap: 3400 Equestrian Club Rd.
• All other vehicles: $22 per carload.

Join us in making this an unforgettable night as we come together to celebrate our school’s participation in this prestigious event. For more event details, visit www.greatcharitychallenge.com. We can’t wait to see you there!

Students Enjoy Winter Break Camp at Connections

During winter break for public schools, Connections offers a camp designed for students with autism who need a safe, engaging place to spend days while parents work. Students benefit from continued consistency mixed with field trips and fun.

This year, 15 campers enjoyed arts and crafts, went bowling, visited local parks and celebrated New Year's Eve with a pizza party!

A special thank you to the county agencies that generously provided scholarships to students in need so they could participate and to team member Mary Docteur and all our staff members who made this year's camp a great experience!

Thank You to the WGA at PGA for Supporting Connections!

We are incredibly grateful to the Women’s Golf Association (WGA) at PGA National for their incredible support of Connections! Their Annual Charity Event, held January 9, 2025, was a tremendous success, and we were honored to be the beneficiary again this year.

A special thank you goes out to WGA President Jackie Derle, Event Chair Lisa Palestrini, and all the dedicated volunteers and members who helped make the day so memorable. Your generosity will have a lasting impact on our students with autism, helping them grow and thrive in remarkable ways.

Thank you for championing our mission and making a difference in the lives of our students and their families!

PGA National's Community Outreach Committee Helps Fund Connections Prom

We are incredibly thankful to the Community Outreach Committee at PGA National for their recent gift to Connections to help fund this year's prom! Their meaningful contribution will help enable us to host a fun, memorable and sensory-friendly prom for our students and adult clients.

Thank you for helping us ensure our students and clients have the opportunity to enjoy prom like their neurotypical peers. Your support makes a lasting impact on our community, and we can’t wait to share the joy and photos from Prom 2025 coming up May 3.

Cooking Up Confidence at Recipes for Success

We’re excited to kick off another eight-week session of Recipes for Success by Extraordinary Charities! This incredible program is teaching a group of our students essential cooking skills while preparing them to earn their ServSafe Certification, which is required for jobs in the culinary field.

Through hands-on lessons, our students are mastering kitchen and food safety, recipe use, food preparation, and the art of cooking and serving delicious meals. Their hard work and progress in the kitchen make us so proud, and it’s a joy to see their confidence grow each week!

A heartfelt thank you to the generous supporters at BallenIsles Charities Foundation for making this life-changing opportunity possible!

Want a Chance to Win $25,000 While Supporting Connections?

That's what you get with the Birdies for Charity program! This annual program teams up with the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches to give philanthropic people like you a chance to win while supporting a local charity!

Here's how it works:

✅ Donate $20 or more to your favorite charity (we hope that's us!) through this link to enter the program. 🚨🚨 Donation deadline: Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025.

✅ Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches will give your donation PLUS a portion of a bonus pool to the charity you support.

✅ While making your donation, guess the total number of birdies that will be made by the entire field in the 2025 Cognizant Classic golf tournament running Feb. 27-March 2 at the PGA National Champion Course.

✅ The person coming closest to the actual number of birdies will receive a check for $25,000! See full program details online.

Thank you for supporting Connections and good luck!

www.connectedpb.com