Kam grabs a slice of “watermelon” from the play food on his family’s coffee table. He pretends to eat it, then offers some to Ricky, his dad.
 
It’s more than a happy family moment, says Susannah Major, a Speech Language Pathologist with Northwest Center Kids. “This is huge,” she enthuses. “Pretend play is such a prerequisite for language.”

​Get out your drivers, wedges, and putters: it’s time to secure a hole-in-one at the 7th Annual Northwest Center Golf Classic, July 16 at The Golf Club at Newcastle.
 
This year’s event will raise funds to launch EPIC (Expanding Play, Interaction and Communication), a new Northwest Center Kids program that will support children with autism or social communication delays to be engaged with their parents, peers and the community.

What an impact The Derby had on IMPACT™, a new initiative from Northwest Center Kids. The silent and live auction held in April at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel, with a goal of raising $100,000 to launch the new service, instead raised more than three times that amount with donations totaling $306,000.

Witness sports history at the 50th Annual 2018 Special Olympics USA Games in Seattle: sign up to volunteer with Northwest Center July 1-6.
 
Join us as a volunteer during the soccer competitions, where you can also cheer on a team with a special connection to Northwest Center. The Issaquah Spirit, coached by our VP of Business Development Mike Quinn, is representing the state in soccer as Team Washington.

Donate clothing and household goods to The Big Blue Truck™ or at Value Village™ to keep them out of landfills and to benefit Northwest Center. Here are a few tips to make sure your donation counts.

​“Any program or event that we planned was done so with zero rejection. No one would be turned away for any reason.” – Janet Taggart, Northwest Center founder

Northwest Center was founded on a mission of inclusion in 1965, and each year we celebrate that mission with business partners, friends, employees and the greater community at the Golden Hearts Luncheon. Join the celebration on October 23 at the Sheraton Hotel, downtown Seattle, from noon-1 p.m.
 
This year’s keynote speaker is actress and advocate Lauren Potter, best known as Becky Jackson on the hit TV show Glee. Potter was the Ambassador for the Special Olympics World Games, served on President Obama’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities, and is on the International Board of Best Buddies, working in conjunction with Special Olympics on the “R Word: Spread the Word to End the Word” anti-bullying campaign.

An exclusive financial workshop from new Northwest Center partner MassMutual is being offered free of change to Northwest Center employees, families, and friends who are caregivers of special needs kids and adults. 10 Basic Financial Steps for Special Needs Caregivers focuses on preparing financially to ensure that care and quality of life is maintained for a loved one after the caregiver is gone.
 
The 10 steps workshop, developed by MassMutual through years of research, features critical issues such as applying for Social Security and Medicaid, creating a special needs trust, and the importance of a will.
 
Many thanks to MassMutual for this opportunity. 
To sign up and receive dates and times, email your contact information to: giving@nwcenter.org

Pacific Northwest Theatre Associates (PNTA) knows the value of inclusion. The theatrical supply store, located in West Seattle, contacted Northwest Center last year with the specific goal of employing people with disabilities in their shipping and receiving department. A manager had learned how productive it can be to employ people of all abilities, so PNTA decided to become inclusive, too. 

​At the halfway point of 2018, I want to THANK YOU for supporting Northwest Center and share just one example of the great work YOU already made possible this year:  
 
We raised over $306,000 at The Derby 2018, allowing us to launch IMPACT™ (Inclusion Mentorship Program for increasing Access in Childcare Team) on May 1! Learn more right here. 
 
Excitement is building for the Special Olympics USA Games. Northwest Center athletes are competing, staff and board members are volunteering, and I want to personally invite you. Buy your tickets to the Opening Ceremony, July 1 in Husky Stadium, and you’ll be seated in a section dedicated to NWC and our supporters. Arrive early and stop by our tailgate party—hope to see you there!
 
We envision a world where individual talent meets unlimited opportunity. Thank you for your continued support in bringing us closer to a truly inclusive society.
 
Onward and Upward,
 
Gene

​By Trevor Pacelli, Contributing Writer

Enjoy this first-person account of Trevor’s trip to the Washington State Capitol in Olympia, where he joined with other Northwest Center employees and friends as a self-advocate for inclusive employment.

​“Why should I be an advocate?”
​
That’s a question many of us ask when we learn how few people with developmental disorders have a good full-time job. Earlier this year, many of us from Washington state traveled to the state capitol to find an answer to that question.
We met up at the United Churches, a block from the Legislative Building, to talk about our plan for the day. Outside, the air was nippy, with snow barely glazing the lawn. Inside, the pews were packed as the sun beamed a carnation violet through stained glass windows. Together, we heard the hope among the good and bad news.

​Northwest Center is pleased to welcome Trevor Pacelli as a contributing writer. Trevor has drawn on his experiences as a person with autism and his creative talents since he was a child. At 15, he illustrated a children's book about autism awareness written by his sister Briana, “The Kindergarten Adventures of Amazing Grace.” At 19, he wrote a book in the "Six-Word Lessons" series to help families understand how a person with autism thinks and feels. He has also written for news outlets such as CNN and, drawing on his degree in film and media studies from Arizona State University, regularly writes about the cinema.

By Trevor Pacelli, contributing writer
​
Happy Star Wars Day (May the 4th be with you)! In honor of the legendary saga, I would like to discuss how the beloved characters can encourage us to keep pressing ahead despite physical challenges, as well as address questionable depictions of physical differences.

​​Warning: spoilers ahead!