“I’m not a hero and I’m not brave, I just got a chance to do what I love, and I did my best,” says Lauren Potter, best known as cheerleader Becky Jackson on the hit TV show Glee.
 
Career success like Potter’s is what Northwest Center’s 2018 Golden Hearts Luncheon is all about. This year’s event will raise funds for Transition Services, so more students with disabilities can find rewarding employment. As keynote speaker, Potter will share how she achieved her career goals.
 
“I am incredibly honored to speak to the people at Northwest Center,” Potter says. “I think the work being done by Northwest Center supports people to their fullest ability. It lets everybody know that we should be together, not separate. It helps give people a head start in life and makes them stronger. Without places like Northwest Center, inclusion is impossible!”

In the surgical room at Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Services (SCRAPS), everyone works quietly and efficiently. The vet is finishing up a minor surgical procedure on a rescued dog. Mercie, her assistant, monitors the animal’s heart rate and prepares for his transfer back to his crate. When the surgery is complete, Mercie joins another assistant to prep the next animal, carefully inserting a breathing tube and shaving patches of fur.
 
This is Mercie beginning to fulfill her lifelong dream—one that teachers, peers, and even her father once thought was out of reach.

​A new and innovative radio program airing on Spokane’s KXLY FM/AM is broadcast from Northwest Center’s Employment Services offices in Spokane. Breaking Through is a 30-minute show produced by Don Gillespie, a community employment services manager with more than 30 years of broadcasting experience. Gillespie uses the program to share stories that promote equal opportunities for children and adults with disabilities.

​It was an epic day at the 7th Annual Northwest Center Golf Classic as more than 120 players competed in rounds of championship golf at The Golf Club at Newcastle. Golfers got out their putters on the greens and also their wallets to give green: they raised $85,000 to launch EPIC (Expanding Play, Interaction and Communication), a new Northwest Center Kids initiative that will provide early and ongoing support to families of children with autism.
 
Event host Bill Krueger, former Seattle Mariners ace and Northwest Center’s strategic relationship officer, competed with some of his professional athletic pals including former Seahawks defensive end Alonzo Mitz, former Mariners pitcher Erik Hanson, Charlie Furbush, former Mariner and current MLB player, and former Mariners centerfielder Brian Hunter.

​In three days of competing in the Special Olympics USA Games in Seattle, local soccer squad Team Spirit scored 17 goals and managed to make it into the semifinals, netting a bronze medal.
 
Head coach Mike Quinn, Northwest Center’s VP of business development, gave all the credit to his players, who managed to defeat Hawaii and South Carolina in the early rounds. In the semis, Team Spirit tied the Washington Thunder 1-to-1 in the elimination round to secure the bronze. Washington Thunder went on to win gold and Maine took the silver.

​­Want to make a big difference for people in need this year during the holidays? Join Northwest Center’s 2018 holiday drive. Once again, we’ll fulfill the wish lists of families in need by collecting toys and clothes that The Big Blue Truck™, Northwest Center Kids, and our executive team will distribute for the holidays.

A clothing drive with Northwest Center's Big Blue Truck™ is a fun way for parents, teachers, and kids to clean out closets, recycle used clothing, get a tax deduction, and of course, benefit Northwest Center's services for people of all abilities.
​Get started today! 

​Saturday, August 11, 2018
10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Cromwell Park: 18030 Meridian Ave N Shoreline, WA 98133

Join us for a day of inclusive family fun!
 
- Free lunch
- Free painting
- Live music
- Games led by Special Olympics of Washington
- A special visit by a service llama
 
CONTACT INFO: 
Laura Kneedler: lkneedler@nwcenter.org 

​Northwest Center is pleased to welcome Michael Padilla as an intern writer and photographer. Michael has ataxic cerebral palsy, which is a muscle disability. He’s currently a sophomore at Bellevue College and upon graduation, he wants to become a sports reporter.
 
By Michael Padilla
​
The Washington Spirit, coached by Northwest Center’s own VP of business development Mike Quinn, battled South Carolina in an early round soccer match at the Special Olympics USA Games at Seattle University. The Washington Spirit controlled the pace of the game from start to finish and won by a final score of 7 to 1.  

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.

​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.

​Our team had a productive week attending APEC 2018 – The Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition – on March 4-8 in San Antonio, TX. As first-time exhibitors, we were immediately engaged by the variety of activities and professional training sessions made available to attendees.
​
On the exposition floor, we had a wonderful time meeting with customers, strengthening partnerships, showing off our capabilities, and checking out the competition. Our booth, which was strategically located next to the food and beverage area, was fully decked out with new signage, a variety of sample parts, fun giveaways, and, of course, free candy bars.  

Katrina Caron, Director of Early Learning at Northwest Center’s Chinook location, gets the calls all the time.

“Parents will have a child with a special need and they can’t find care anywhere. Or their child is going to be kicked out of their preschool. Or the current school is not meeting their child’s needs. I have to say, ‘I’m really sorry, but I have to put you on our waitlist’ when we can’t take more children.”​

​“One, two, three, edge-to-edge, edge-to-edge. One, two, three, edge-to-edge, edge-to-edge.” Glenda’s table wiping process is precise—each table cleaned with unparalleled focus and care.
 
Glenda works at Red Robin in Renton, where she gets the restaurant ready for the day before opening—a job that she, her managers, and her job coaches agree is a perfect fit. Glenda has been at the job for a little over seven months, gaining confidence by proactively adding new responsibilities and even taking on another shift on Saturdays.
​

​Derby fashions, a fast-paced live auction, and the opportunity to raise much-needed funds to benefit Northwest Center Kids’ mission of inclusive education all come together at The Derby, Saturday, April 28 from 6-10 p.m. This premier fundraiser for Northwest Center takes place this year at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel, 411 University Street, downtown Seattle.
 
The hotel’s elegant Spanish Ballroom is the setting for an evening of Kentucky Derby-inspired fun and frivolity for a cause. Every dollar raised will help Northwest Center Kids launch a brand new, pioneering program that will bring inclusive early learning to kids throughout the region.

​Erika’s first few shifts at Amazon Prime Now warehouse had their challenges. The pace was hectic, she was negotiating a scanning system, and she was navigating a dizzying assortment of quadrants and aisle numbers. Several times, Northwest Center job coaches found her wandering an aisle, saying she was lost.

But if you asked Erika how the shift went, she was all smiles. “It was a good day today,” she would say. “I learned a lot!”
That unwavering optimism gave Northwest Center and Prime Now management confidence that Erika would get the hang of things. And it didn’t take long for their faith to be rewarded.
​

​We’re well into 2018, and the momentum continues to build here at Northwest Center. There isn’t enough space to mention all our successes, so I’ll highlight just a few.

Our Early Intervention and Early Learning teams served a record number of kids in 2017 (770!) and are well on their way to surpass that number this year. We’ll soon launch an Inclusion Team to train other preschools to provide inclusive early learning education and support, while our new autism program (EPIC: expanding play, interaction, and communication) will complement the services we already provide.

​When a new shift begins, associates clock in and head to “Stand Up,” an area of the warehouse where managers go over daily announcements and celebrate top performers in front of their coworkers. For Mihret, who has worked for just over six months, Stand Up became a goal from day one.
 
Mihret, born in Ethiopia, is deaf yet does not know American or Universal Sign Language.  English is her second language and this makes communication and connection difficult for her. Yet in June 2017, Mihret came into work and saw her name, written in big green letters.  Mihret was awarded top performer.  Two days later, Mihret achieved her goal yet again. In fact, that day, three out of the four top performer awards were given to associates placed by Northwest Center, all with diagnosed disabilities.  

Northwest Center is proud to announce that the Issaquah Spirit, a Special Olympics soccer team coached by Northwest Center VP of Business Development Mike Quinn, has been selected to represent Washington State at the summer 2018 Special Olympics USA Games, July 1-6, 2018 in Seattle.

Anthony looks at the world a little differently—and often beautifully.

“When Anthony goes up a hill, he says it’s heavy because it makes his body feel heavy,” says his mom Sara. “What a unique way to describe that feeling.”
​
Still, Sara and her husband Jason struggled to find a preschool that would nurture Anthony’s potential the same as any other child.

​By Richard Solomon, Lead Employment Support Coordinator
“One second.”
​
Conlan holds up a finger and furrows his brow, focused on the screen in front of him. He’s working as a Problem Solver at Amazon’s Prime Now warehouse (UWA1) in Kirkland, a job he found through Northwest Center Employment Services. The warehouse is a hub for Pacific Northwest fulfillment, with a torrent of inventory that gives him plenty to do.