Happenings & Stories
Welcome Back to School B.R.I.D.G.E.S. Class!
We are happy to welcome back the students in the B.R.I.D.G.E.S. class for the 21-22 school year! After a year and a half of virtual learning, we are ready to get back out in the community and experience in person Community Based Instructions (CBI). Our HDS Foundation...
The Wings of Friendship Summer Camp
I had the wonderful opportunity to be a part of The Wings of Friendship Summer Camp over the past 8 weeks. A virtual camp that brought together teens and young adults with varying disabilities to enjoy daily activities together. Through various partnerships within the...
National Nonprofit Day
As we celebrate National Nonprofit Day, we take the time to recognize the immense effort nonprofits and charities put into serving their communities. Today, HDS Companies shines a light on our Foundation, a 501©3 nonprofit that was founded in 2008. The primary focus...
End of the Year Celebration for our B.R.I.D.G.E.S. Students
Friends, Food & Fun! The B.R.I.D.G.E.S. students were finally able to spend an evening together celebrating the End of the School Year! We even had a surprise visit from several of the B.R.I.D.G.E.S. alumni who came to reconnect with current classmates....
Family Network on Disabilites Q&A with B.R.I.D.G.E.S.
Throughout the school year, Luke Wilson from Family Network on Disabilities (FND) hosted several workshops for the B.R.I.D.G.E.S. students. The workshops the class attended virtually were: Internet Safety and Nuts & Bolts of Self-Determination. Both sessions were...
Highlighting Our College Mentors Program!
The HDS College Mentors Program strives to identify the peripheral needs of students living with Autism Spectrum Disorder or related disabilities, who are seeking a College Degree and are living at a University or College Campus. The Program focuses on the guidance...
Highlighting Our S.A.P. Program!
The HDS Foundation Social Activities Program (S.A.P.) is a customized, social and life-skills program designed to enhance the lives of young adults who are attending a college or university, living in the dorms or partially independent housing. The program aims to...
Get the Door, It’s Domino’s!
Get the Door. It’s Domino’s! Last week’s Community Based Instruction (CBI) included ordering lunch from delicious Dominos. In preparation for this CBI, the B.R.I.D.G.E.S. students attended a “drive by” at the high school to pick up their own individual Domino’s Gift...
Highlighting Our B.R.I.D.G.E.S. Program
The HDS Foundation supports many programs to help teens and young adults on the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) transition to their post-secondary journey. The B.R.I.D.G.E.S. Program is a school-based social and community life skills activities class designed to meet...
Autism Awareness Month
It’s Autism Awareness Month- Let’s Light It Up Blue! In 2007, the United Nations recognized April 2nd as World Autism Awareness Day to raise awareness for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). About 1 in 54 children have been identified with ASD according...
Wings of Friendship
Friendship was the topic of last week’s Community Based Instruction (CBI) with the B.R.I.D.G.E.S. students! Special Guests Robb Armstrong and Samantha Novick from the Wings of Friendship, a non-profit organization, attended the class to educate the students about...
Self-Determination Skill Building
Students in the B.R.I.D.G.E.S. class had the opportunity to participate in the “Nuts and Bolts of Self-Determination Skill Building” workshop hosted by Luke Wilson with Family Network on Disabilities (FND). The focus of the workshop was to help students learn how to...
The B.R.I.D.G.E.S. Gardeners!
From little seeds, grow mighty trees – Here come the B.R.I.D.G.E.S. Gardeners! Last week, the B.R.I.D.G.E.S. program had the opportunity to participate in a virtual gardening experience with their classmates! A week prior to the Community Based Instruction (CBI),...
Presidents Day 2021
Mentorship Month
In honor of National Mentoring Month, HDS Foundation would like to shine a light and highlight Dr. Tara Rowe, Co-founder of the University of North Florida’s Transition to Healthiness, Resourcefulness, Independence, Vocation, and Education (THRIVE) Program. Dr. Rowe...
B.R.I.D.G.E.S. Hammer Away!
Last Friday, our B.R.I.D.G.E.S. Builders were back at work, but this time they were building a toolbox! Students came prepared with safety googles, nails, glue wood pieces ready to hammer away. We have never seen them more excited! As facilitators Kathy Gorman-Gard...
HDS Elves at Work to Spread Christmas Cheer this Holiday Season!
If this crazy, unpredictable, and difficult year has taught us anything, it has reminded us how grateful and fortunate we all are. This holiday season, the HDS Companies has chosen to support Children’s Harbor, a foster care organization whose mission is to keep...
It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas especially for the B.R.I.D.G.E.S. Class! COVID can’t stop us from spreading holiday joy. Every holiday season our B.R.I.D.G.E.S. Students participate in their class secret elf exchange which we were still able to make happen...
HDS Gives Back and Spreads Joy this Holiday Season!
‘Tis the season to be Jolly! It’s the time of year where we look forward to gathering with friends and family, exchange gifts, and celebrate holiday traditions. In keeping with the spirit of giving, the HDS Companies is committed to supporting the overall well-being...
Happy Thanksgiving 2020
World Kindness Day!
Kindness - a universal language that binds people together regardless of race, religion, gender, political affiliation, and location. November 13th is World Kindness Day! World Kindness Day is an international holiday which was founded in 1998 and is celebrated around...
Veterans Day 2020
If You Don’t Know the Sender, It Might Be a Pretender!
Today the B.R.I.D.G.E.S. class participated in a workshop hosted by Luke Wilson with Family Network on Disabilities. Since the pandemic, teens have spent an extraordinaire amount of time on their phones, computers, and tablets, either doing virtual school or...
B.R.I.D.G.E.S. Has a Fang-tastic Halloween!
The B.R.I.D.G.E.S students let the ghoul times roll this past Friday evening celebrating Halloween as they dressed up in costumes and decorated their parent’s car with spiders, ghosts, and goblins. To add to the spooky fun, we also had balloons, candy, and music!...
Where There’s a Whisk, There’s a Way!
The HDS Foundation B.R.I.D.G.E.S. Program is always keeping things fun and exciting when it comes to our Community Based Instruction (CBI) activities. Now that we have been virtual, it’s important to keep our mission alive guiding the students to independent living...