Early lessons

Half of the disabled children in Central Florida aren’t receiving the services that they need to live better lives.

One organization is looking to better that statistic.

The UCP of Central Florida has provided support, education and therapy to children with special needs for the last 55 years. It focuses on the importance of early intervention, which, it says, can make a huge difference in the lives of children with special needs.

The nonprofit charter school is hosting The Faces Behind the Miracles Ninth Annual Fundraising Breakfast on Friday, Nov. 5 to gain support for their mission.

Guests can donate their time as volunteers, participate in wish list drives to support the organization’s specific needs or simply make a financial contribution.

The UCP hopes to raise $275,000 from annual and one-time donations at the breakfast.

“All three opportunities we present play a huge part in the funding of UCP, and this breakfast is a great opportunity for people to learn about who we are and what we’re about, and then decide how they want to be a part of it,” said Martha Mannarino, UCF senior director of strategic marketing.

Before UCP of Central Florida was founded, disabled children had limited options for programs and services other than to be institutionalized, she said. Today, 55 years later, help and hope is offered every day in the form of support, education and physical, speech and occupational therapy.

Last year, UCP helped more than 2,400 children with special needs, including cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, autism spectrum disorder, and developmental, speech and language delays.

For Winter Park and Maitland parents of disabled children, the drive to UCP’s downtown Orlando/Holloway campus is well worth it. There’s also an East Orlando campus.

“Parents will drive from Winter Park and Maitland to our downtown Orlando campus even though they don’t live near here, because this is a place where they can get support, education and therapy all under one roof,” Mannarino said.

According to the Florida Department of Education, about 14 percent of the children in Central Florida have been diagnosed with a disability or developmental delay, yet only half are receiving the services they need.

“At UCP, we really try and place them in an environment where they can easily learn and adapt to being comfortable with what a normal classroom setting would be, that way we can eventually graduate them into a classroom with their peers,” said Kathy Jennings, sensory classroom teaching assistant.

For Winter Park resident and teacher Amy Thomason, seeing the children learn and grow together is the best part of her job.

“We’re fortunate because we have therapists that can come right into the classroom and work with the kids in that setting,” Thomason said.

Learn more

The Faces Behind the Miracles Ninth Annual Fundraising Breakfast, to support the UCP of Central Florida, will be held from 8:30-9:30 a.m. Friday, Nov. 5 at the First Baptist Church of Orlando.

To RSVP, contact Ruth Leggore at [email protected] or 407-852-3308. Visit ucpcfl.org for more information.