If this is your first experience as a volunteer, you are probably not quite sure what to expect or what is expected of you. As the PALS Self Advocacy Committee, we hope our letter can help you understand what participants with Down syndrome expect of you and how you can work with them at camp to create the best week ever.
Hi PALS Programs community! My name is Bella (she/her/hers), and I’m thrilled to join PALS as the new California Regional Program Coordinator. My passion for residential programming began long before I ever worked at a camp
At PALS Programs, we believe the people who experience our programs should help shape the future of them. This year, we’re excited to introduce two standing committees that do exactly that: our Self-Advocacy Committee and our Volunteer Leadership Committee.
Hi PALS Programs community! My name is Leslie (she/her/hers), and I’m thrilled to join PALS as the new California Regional Program Manager. I’m truly excited to be part of the PALS community and can’t wait to build lasting connections with you all.
After launching PALS Affinity Groups in March, we wanted to create a space specifically for individuals with Down syndrome in the PALS community to discuss their shared experiences, triumphs, and challenges beyond programs. Thanks to the help of Sam and Zoe, co-facilitators, we are introducing a Self Advocate Affinity Group!
PALS is committed to increasing access to our programs so that more people from diverse backgrounds have the opportunity to experience the magic of PALS. However, in order to do this, it is important that we consider not only one identity such as gender or race, but other identities such as age, class, religion, and combinations of these identities and other identities and their impacts as we grow.
A group of students from Salesianum School, in Delaware, created fundraising pages for PALS and raised $2,495. Thank you so much to Kian, Evan, Ryan, Dylan, Connor, Abel, and Joseph for your fundraising efforts! We asked them to reflect on their experience and why they decided to fundraising for PALS as high school students. Here is what Connor and Kian shared on behalf of the group.
In May 2020 PALS made a public statement on Black Lives Matter. It has been over a year since I posted that blog and it is time to share an update. Our work at PALS to build a more equitable and inclusive organization goes far beyond a public statement, and as we mark some progress we also know we have so far to go.
