On June 1, we kicked off our month by launching Duck Sales for our upcoming annual event, the RVA Duck Race and Festival of Inclusion! All proceeds from Duck Sales will benefit the ASCV, supporting our critical programs and services.
With recent data showing an increase in autism diagnosis rates to 1 in 36 children, it is clear that the programs and services that we provide at the ASCV are more critical than ever.
In the month of June, we hosted 28 programs for participants of all ages throughout Central Virginia. We kicked off the month by hosting our Inclusive LEGO Club with Bricks 4 Kidz and our PreK & Elementary Programs at River City Inclusive Gym.
On June 7, our members joined us for fun at the Diamond! We enjoyed time with our community as we watched the Richmond Flying Squirrels battled for the win against the Altoona Curve. We discovered new things together during our Teen Hike with Beyond Boundaries and in Discovery Club where we visited Boulevard Flower Gardens.
Throughout June we hosted several meetups and support groups for a variety of audiences. Our meetups included our Adult Social Group, Self-Advocate Member Meet-Up at Unplugged Games Cafe, Teen Social Group with Autastic Avenues, and a Preschool and Elementary Meetup at Launch Trampoline Park. The amazing team at Launch even opened their business early for us so we could enjoy a sensory-friendly experience within their space!
Our support groups this month included our LGBTQ+ Virtual Support Group, Virtual Adult Support Group, Caregivers of Young Children Support Group, Virtual Men’s Support Group, Virtual Women’s Group, Mom’s Night Out Group, Virtual Spanish Speaking Support Group with UVA STAR, and our Diagnosis + Lunch and Learn with VDSA!
On June 17, we kicked off our ASCV Summer Camps, launching 4 weeks of fun for participants!
In Week #1, our Elementary Campers enjoyed a roaring fun time with the week’s theme — Dino Discovery! We kicked off each morning grooving to the beat during music time, and throughout the week we created fossil-themed sensory bags, discovered fossils during our archaeological dig, searched through an exciting dinosaur scavenger hunt, enjoyed exercise both outdoors and indoors, and got crafty, printing our own camp t-shirts on the printing press! We capped off the dino-mite fun by devouring some delicious dino parfaits and escaping the summer heat with fun water play!
Our Teen Campers found fun times in Week #1 by exploring a new decade through this week’s theme — Eras of Fun! Together we explored the last four decades, trying out new creative workshops and activities each day. We decorated CDs, learned how to make origami fortune tellers, printed our own camp t-shirts on the printing press, tried cooking popular foods from different decades, competed with a trivia blitz and popular games from each era, and discovered new music and dance moves from decades past!
In Week #2, our Elementary Campers kept their hands busy and minds moving with our “Busy Builders” theme. We began each day with music time to help start our day and inspire our creativity for the day’s activities. Then, we dove into the fun, experimenting with Legos, watching robotics demonstrations, trying out coding and movement activities, and more!
Our Teen Campers dove into a world of strategy and fun in Week #2 with our “Games Galore” theme. Each day brought new adventures with board games, video games, card games, outdoor lawn games, a nerf battle, science experiments, and even game-themed snacks like game-controller rice krispies, domino brownies, and checker piece crackers! Our favorite games this week were Ping pong, Monopoly Empire, and Apples to Apples.
We would like to give a huge thank you to our amazing community partners for the first two weeks of ASCV Summer Camp — River Road Church, Baptist, Children’s Museum of Richmond, Kidokinetics, Art on Wheels, Occupational Therapist, Jessica Lee, Art on Wheels, Richmond Nerf Club, the Maggie Walker’s Robotics Team (The Mech Tech Dragons), Occupational Therapist, Jessica Lee, and Music Therapist, Annie Rutledge. Your support helped create a truly unforgettable experience for our campers. Thank you!
We capped off our busy month by hosting one of our most popular programs, Respite Night. Our Respite Night program provides a safe space for participants to enjoy sensory-friendly activities and fun with friends, while enabling a respite for caretakers.
This is just a glimpse at what we were up to last month! Be sure to check out our program calendar to see what we have coming up next. We hope you will join us for a program or event soon!
View ASCV’s upcoming programs and events HERE.
Find an event in the community HERE.
Learn about volunteer opportunities with the ASCV HERE.