At PALS, we aim to create inclusive camp experiences for people with and without Down syndrome to form meaningful connections and build lifelong memories. Achieving this mission requires intentional efforts to foster a safe, welcoming, and supportive environment for every participant, volunteer, and staff member.
Introducing our newest member of the PALS team, Molly McCue!
Molly recently joined the PALS staff as the Operations Manager. In this role, she will oversee all aspects of camp operations, ensuring each program runs smoothly and efficiently!
At PALS Programs, our mission is to create inclusive camp experiences for young people with and without Down syndrome. We believe that everyone deserves the chance to form meaningful connections, gain independence, and have fun in a supportive and joyful environment. To ensure our camps remain accessible, we are proud to offer a comprehensive financial aid program that makes these transformative experiences available to anyone, regardless of financial circumstances.
We’re thrilled to announce the newest additions to the PALS staff team—our very first Residents! This new residency is a one year opportunity for emerging professionals to work closely with our team and gain firsthand experience in nonprofit management, diversity & inclusion, and career development.
Happy New Year from the PALS Staff! We rang in 2023 at PALS Holiday in Los Angeles, California.
PALS Holiday first launched in 2017 on the east coast as off season programming for our community to reconnect and ring in the New Year together. This year we were thrilled to bring this program across the country at our first-ever PALS Holiday Los Angeles. This proved to be a great opportunity to engage with the local community of Los Angeles as one of our ten hubs outlined in the PALS Strategic Plan.
PALS Summer 2023 is less than 200 days away! The application for Partners and Peers launches on January 1 and we are eager to share more details about what you can expect for our upcoming summer programs.
Following each summer season, PALS Staff strives to gather feedback from every member of our community as described in a recent blog post. We understand the value of hearing each individual’s opinion and experience at PALS to create the highest quality programs possible. Decisions are influenced by community feedback in order to constantly improve our programs for the following year. Here are a few adaptations you can expect to see this next summer.
Thanks to a connection through current volunteer Tori Clayton, the Student Pennsylvania State Education Associate (SPSEA) invited PALS to present at their conference at Westchester University on November 5. When considering what would be most relevant to a room full of aspiring teachers, we kept coming back to one idea - how immersive experiences outside of the classroom, like PALS, make teachers more confident, motivated, and passionate when they step back inside the school building.
We often ask members of our PALS Family "Why PALS?" to learn how our mission has impacted their lives. In honor of the recent Leadership Application launch, we asked Abe Patterson, Program Lead for PALS Los Angeles in 2022, to share what PALS means to him. Read how leadership has impacted his life and how it could for you as well.
Data is something everyone uses to help make decisions every day. Whether you are using GPS to see if there is traffic on the way to your destination, checking the weather forecast for later this week, or tracking the steps you take on a smart watch, data is a major part of our everyday lives. PALS relies on data to see how we’re doing, where and how to improve, and to hear directly from all of the people who attend our programs.
PALS is delighted to announce the recent notification that our week-long summer programs have earned ACA-Accredited® Camp status! This is verification from the American Camp Association® that our camp, during multiple site visits over the course of the summer, complied with up to 266 industry-established health and safety standards, which are recognized by courts of law and government regulators as the standards of the camp industry.
We often ask members of our PALS Family "Why PALS?" to learn how our mission has impacted their lives. This month, we heard from PALS Participants, Cote and Arjun, during their time at PALS Boston. They shared why PALS has impacted them this summer and how they formed a meaningful friendship last week as they were paired together.
The PALS Family is thrilled to return to week-long summer programming this year. Many Peers stepped up in a number of ways: recruiting their friends, fundraising for PALS, and even attending multiple camps! Two such volunteers are Taylor and Tegan Wietrzykowski, who attended not one, not two, but three camps this summer!
Andy recently joined the PALS Staff team as a Program Coordinator. He is responsible for ensuring the execution of high quality, safe, inclusive, and diverse programs for all PALS participants. Andy will support recruitment efforts across programs, work with Volunteer Leaders within PALS, and maintain high customer service for the entire PALS community.
