The Seed
The seed of a nurturing space for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities was first planted by our founder, Ruth.
An advocate.
A leader.
A visionary.
A mother.
It was a mother’s need to find a suitable place to care for her son with disabilities that first brought KenCCID to life. It was a mother’s touch that nurtured the organization to what it is today. KenCCID has served close to 200 individuals with disabilities for 51 years and counting. In this season of celebrating mothers, we recognize KenCCID’s Founding Mother, Ruth. Without her passion for her son, and unwavering mission to find him suitable care, KenCCID wouldn’t be where it is today.
As KenCCID has continued to grow, so have our needs. We provide home cooked meals, secure housing, medical care, and job support to numerous individuals with disabilities across the city of Philadelphia. Our homes are clustered near social event centers to allow our residents to engage with their surrounding community.
5 Ways Your Support Helps KenCCID Grow
We’ve listed 5 ways your support helps the work we do at KenCCID to ensure individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities live a life that is different from no other.
- Tablets and/or Laptops
Technology has become an increasingly large part of everyone’s lives. Individuals with disabilities should not be left out of the recent advances in digital tools. Tablets and/or laptops would help individuals with disabilities:
- Improve digital literacy so that they can better navigate the ever growing digital landscape.
- Increase their social interactions with the community at large through social media.
- Use technology for the purpose of enhancing existing skills or building new skills (e.g. viewing instructional videos).
- Participate in online gaming activities.
Most people participate in social media and other online activities on a daily basis. individuals are often precluded from doing so because they do not have the equipment that allows their participation. Providing them with tablets or notebooks lets them participate equally with their able-bodied peers, bridging an important social gap for individuals.
- Sign Language Tutoring
For individuals who have either expressed interest in learning sign language, or who have verbal communication difficulties, sign language is an important addition to their ability to communicate with the world around them. An individual who can communicate their desires, can direct their life. However, physical disabilities often make it difficult to communicate effectively. Sign language helps overcome this barrier and provides the individual with increased autonomy. Similarly, there are individuals who have social and familial bonds with hearing-impaired persons. Learning sign language allows them to maintain or enhance these important relationships.
- Gardening Projects
Like many local Philadelphia residents, individuals are partial to eating processed convenience foods which are high in calories and low in nutrients. Additionally, limited personal resources often make processed foods the only affordable option for many disabled individuals. One way to increase access to and interest in nutrient-dense foods is to facilitate gardening and horticultural projects either through participation in a community garden or by purchasing the items needed for individuals to tend to their own gardens. In this way, individuals can select fruit or vegetables to grow, participate in helping to raise them and then direct how they would like the ripened item prepared to eat. This will make the nutrient-dense food more appealing and also give the individual a sense of accomplishment for their role in growing the food.
- Gym Membership with Access to a Personal Trainer
Several of our individuals struggle with weight challenges and other medical issues due to lack of exercise. Most individuals live in city settings with minimal access to nature trails or other outdoor activities, particularly during the colder months. A gym membership provides individuals with two important benefits. Firstly, they have increased engagement with the non-disabled community, and secondly, they have access to a variety of physical activities to maintain their interest in exercise.
Providing individuals with access to a personal trainer helps them to work around any
physical limitations they have and reduces the risk of injury. This helps them to see exercise as a positive experience.
- In Home Video Monitoring With Two-Way Communication.
The installation of video equipment in non-private areas of the individuals’ homes will allow increased provider oversight of staff engagement with, and support of, individuals. This system will also be tailored to allow 2-way communication between individuals and other members of their support team, allowing individuals more autonomy and independence over their day-to-day lives.
This equipment will also permit individuals to receive remote support from provider staff for day-to-day activities. For example, if an individual wishes to make a sandwich and does not have staff physically present to assist them, then they can initiate contact with a remote staff member to help guide them through the process while that staff member can watch the individual’s activity. In this way, the provider can tailor their guidance to the individual’s stage of activity.
51 Years and Beyond
We are proud to continue the vision of our Founding Mother, Ruth to today. Your generous donations will help us grow 51 years and beyond. Your generous donations will be used to directly benefit individuals by providing them with access to activities, goods and services that increase their participation in the community, wellness activities and hobbies.
Donate today at: kenccid.org/donate