Easter Seals Disability Services

Easter Seals Central California: A Rich History

The mission of Easter Seals Central California is to create solutions that change lives of children and adults with disabilities or other special needs and their families.

A child with Autism is able to attend school in a typical setting.

A teenager with Spina Bifida learns how to swim.

A young man with Cerebral Palsy lands his first job and receives assistance getting to and from work.

An adult, who has a traumatic brain injury from a car accident, makes new friends at Camp Harmon.

Easter Seals has been providing life-changing services for children and adults with disabilities since 1947. In Santa Cruz County, a group of volunteers concerned with the lack of treatment and opportunities for children with disabilities established the local Society for Crippled Children of Santa Cruz. The local organization affiliated with the National Easter Seal Society for Crippled Children in 1948.

Recognizing the need to provide services for adults with disabilities, the name was changed, in 1954, to Easter Seal Society for Crippled Children and Adults. This allowed Easter Seals to provide services such as the Wide Awakes Club, which offers social and recreational activities for adults with disabilities in Santa Cruz.

In 1964, property, which is now known as Easter Seals Camp Harmon, was donated to Easter Seals by the Harmon sisters of Boulder Creek. The recreational camp for both children and adults with disabilities serves over 600 campers from throughout the state each summer. To date, over 25,000 campers have attended Easter Seals Camp Harmon.

In the mid 80’s, Easter Seals Supported Living Services was started to provide opportunities for adults with physical and developmental disabilities to live in their own homes and participate actively in their communities. Easter Seals staff are committed to assisting each adult in achieving his or her own goals and dreams including finding affordable housing and living independently, and transportation for community outings such as medical appointments and social activities with full access to their community.

In 1987 Easter Seals continued to expand its service offerings for adults with disabilities when the Easter Seal Society of Monterey County joined with Santa Cruz. At this time, the Creative Pathways program was established, offering social and recreational programs for adults with disabilities in Monterey County. The organization became known as Easter Seals of the Monterey Bay Region when San Benito County joined with Santa Cruz and Monterey.

In 1995, the Easter Seal Society of the Central Valley, representing the seven counties of Fresno, Mariposa, Kern, King, Merced, Madera, and Tulare joined the Easter Seal Society of the Monterey Bay Region. Today, the organization is known as Easter Seals Central California.

Easter Seals Central California operates successful community-based services that respond to the differing needs of each population center. Respite Services for families became a key program in 1997, and today serves over 100 families. Prior to that in 1994, a school-based program was started to help children with disabilities receive an education in the typical school setting. This program is known as Education Services.

The S.H.A.R.P. (Severely Handicapped Afterschool and Recreation Program) came to Easter Seals in 2001. A group of parents who had children with severe disabilities needed after school care for their child. They worked together with the Director of Special Education in Pacific Grove to develop the program, which became a part of Easter Seals’ services for children and teens with special needs in 2001.

Easter Seals continued building our services for children with disabilities in the Fresno area in 2003. In collaboration with Children’s Hospital, an inclusive childcare and preschool facility for typically developing and special needs children known as Children’s Hospital Center: An Easter Seals Child Development Center was opened. To date, over 140 families have children attending our center.

The first Easter Seals Epilepsy Fair was held in 2005 with over 125 people attending. The Fair was established to help people and families dealing with Epilepsy learn more about medication and available treatments in Fresno.

The Play and Language for Autistic Youngsters (P.L.A.Y). Project became apart of Easter Seals’ services in 2006. The mission of the project is to help young children (up to age 6) with autism spectrum disorders and their families obtain interventions that consist of 2-3 hours of intensive, individualized therapy per day, in the home, and are integrated with other therapies, saving the parents time and money.

Easter Seals Central California is governed by a Board of Directors, which is composed of business and community leaders from our ten county territory. The organization is led by Bruce Hinman, President and Chief Executive Officer.

For 27 consecutive years, Easter Seals has been ranked first among the National Health Council agencies for the percentage of program dollars allocated to providing direct services for people with disabilities. Over 84 cents of every dollar given to Easter Seals Central California goes directly to our programs and services to support 1,600 individuals.

As a not-for-profit organization, Easter Seals depends on the support of the community to make it possible for us to fulfill our mission. Since 1947, many individuals, businesses, foundations, and clubs and organizations have supported us and made it possible for Easter Seals to help children and adults with disabilities, and their families meet the challenges in their lives and achieve their maximum independence.

With many years of providing services for children and adults with disabilities, Easter Seals is deeply rooted in our community. As we grow and expand, more people continue to need our services. Easter Seals will continue to be a leader in advocating, supporting and serving people with disabilities.

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