This is why we do what we do…

Aaron, pictured at the left, received a GCYD scholarship in 2001. He graduated with honors from Central Connecticut State University in 2006, and recently received his Ph.D. in Computational Chemistry from the University of North Texas. His parents recently wrote us to express their gratitude for the help that GCYD provided as he began his academic journey.

Exceptional students like Aaron are the reason the GCYD works so hard to advocate for and award scholarships to students with disabilities. Congratulations to Aaron. We’re very impressed by all of his academic accomplishments.

Congratulations to our 2010 Recipients

We held our annual scholarship ceremony at the Connecticut State Capitol on Friday, May 21. We were able to award 20 scholarships this year to very deserving students. We wish them the best as they move on to college and their careers. Governor Jodi Rell attended as well as others from state agencies, the Connecticut State University System and the Community Colleges.

Photos from the event are on our website and the photographer will print them for any of the students and their families. If you attended and would like a print of your photo(s), contact Roger Maynard at 860-742-9461 or email
a-closer-look@comcast.net

Jack Matthews, director of human services for Goodwin College and GCYD board member, gave very inspiring remarks at the 2010 ceremony. His speech is now available on our website if you’d like to read or re-read it.

Information for applying for the 2011 scholarships will be available for high school seniors in November. Check back here or on our website in the fall for more information.

Lowe’s is Seeking Additional Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities for Employment Opportunities

Lowe’s is seeking additional individuals with intellectual disabilities for its new warehouse training program.

Lowe’s is looking to hire people with intellectual disabilities full time at their distribution center in Plainfield Conn. The hours of work are Mon – Thurs 6:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Individuals must provide their own transportation to and from the job. There are no buses available in this area. All applicants need to be able to handle heavy lifting, standing long periods of time, pass a drug test and criminal background check. Even old convictions count against them and will disqualify them.

Lowe’s is providing applicants with disabilities supports similar to those provided at Walgreen’s. There will be a 90 day probationary period where people with disabilities will be provided hands-on training by a job-coach from Quinebaug Valley ARC. The first 45 days the person will be on The ARC payroll and be paid $9.00. If they do well during this time period, they will then do 45 days trial period as a Lowe’s employee being paid $12.50. As long as they are doing well and making production levels by the end of the 90 days, they will become a full Lowe’s employee with benefits. A job coach from The ARC will be on-site the entire shift. The employees are required to perform the essential functions of the position themselves. The job coach will provide extra support to learn their positions, stay on task and handle social skills training.

Like Walgreen’s, this job will not be for everyone, but does provide a unique opportunity for people who are interested in this type of work and who have the qualifications to do the work. Please contact Robin Wood (info below) with names of individuals who may be interested in this opportunity.

Robin Wood
Director of Self Determination
Department of Developmental Services
460 Capitol Avenue
Hartford, CT 06106
Hartford Phone 860-418-6138
East Hartford Phone 860-263-2449

Congratulations to our 2010 Scholarship Receipients!

20 Connecticut high school students will be awarded more than $22,500 in scholarships for their post-secondary education on Friday, May 21 at the Connecticut State Capitol. We’re very proud to have awarded all of these deserving students and wish them the best in their future education and careers. After the ceremony, we’ll be posting photos from the day’s event. Many organizations helped make this year’s scholarships possible including CL&P and Yankee Gas, the Connecticut State University System, the Connecticut Community Colleges, Goodwin College and many state agencies. Special thanks also to Panera Bread for donating the event’s refreshments.

This year’s recipients are:

- Eric Clemente of Trumbull
- Nathaniel Book of W. Suffield
- Ryan Jones of Southbury
- Mark Redekas of Manchester
- Steven Celadon of Goshen
- Lauren Gomez of S. Meriden
- Kevin Dydyn of Newington
- Jennifer Green of Bethany
- Hannah Beer of Chaplin
- Felicia King of Hamden
- Samuel Chomet of Mystic
- Mark Selavka of Manchester
- Mark Feola of Milford
- James Van Beckum of Unionville
- Alejandro Cruz of Hartford
- Heather Thomas of Thomaston
- Adam Hunt of Portland
- Alexis Cortes of Hartford
- Christina Mazzatti of Southington
- Dana Ramanauskas of Cheshire

Ceremony to Take Place May 21, 2010

We received over 130 applications during this year’s scholarship application process and we have many, many deserving students who applied for scholarships. We’re in the process of notifying recipients and we’ll honor them at a ceremony at the State Capitol on May 21. More info to come….

Judging Took Place Today

We recevied over 130 scholarship applications for 2010 and held our judging event today. More than 20 judges from state agencies, the GCYD board and others helped judge all of the applications. We had so many deserving students with amazing accomplishments to consider and hope to be able to award as many as possible this year. Applicants will be notified by May if they’ll recieve an award. Much thanks to everyone who participated.

Thanks to Travelers

We’d like to thank Travelers for its generous support of our Bright Lights-Stars of Achievement fundraiser that we’re holding on Saturday, April 24. However, we still need a bit more sponsorship support for our event.

There are plenty of sponsorship opportunities still available. For more information, or to buy tickets to attend our event with Rudy Pauls, Connecticut’s very memorable Biggest Loser contestant from Season 8, contact Liz Adams at 860-665-2679.

GCYD Sponsorship Opportunities

Did you apply for a 2010 scholarship?

We’re getting in our 2010 scholarship applications and judging is set to take place in March. We hope everyone has had the chance to apply. If you have any questions about the application process, feel free to contact us.

We’re also wondering, if you’ve applied for a scholarship this year, or in the past, how did you hear about us? Did you search for scholarships on the web and come across our site, did your guidance counselor tell you about the opportunity, your parents…? We’d like to know.

Support our Fundraiser – We’re Looking for Sponsors

We’re planning a Bright Lights fundraiser for late April and we’re looking for sponsors. There’s a variety of sponsorship levels – $50 – $2000 and all sponsorships come with printed ads in our program book, complimentary tables or tickets for our event and recognition in our promotions and program depending on the sponsorship level. For more information, contact Liz Adams at adamsem@nu.com or 860-665-2679.

Attention all TDBank Customers

We’ve partnered with TD Bank in New Britain, Conn. to help raise money for our scholarship funds. It’s an easy, FREE way for TD Bank customers help us help Connecticut’s students. TD Bank customers can visit any TD Bank location and ask to have your balances included as part of GCYD’s Affinity Membership Program with TD Bank. Use GCYD’s code, A1226, to code your account and TD Bank will make an annual contribution based on the average balance in all members’ accounts. Checking, Savings, Money Market, CD and Retirement accounts are all included in the Program. View this flyer for more information about the program.