Abilities First Showcase Highlights the Beauty of Inclusion and Enrichment for All
Abilities First, Acceptance Always
If you happened to stop by the Poughkeepsie Galleria on Saturday, March 4, the enthusiastic and diverse array of booths and activities stretched out across the entire first floor might have caught your eye. That’s because local nonprofit, Abilities First, hosted their second ever “Showcase of Resources for Enrichment and Inclusion,” with over 30 vendors and a different activity or speaker every half hour in Center Court.
Abilities First, a nonprofit organization operating in Dutchess County, provides support and services to over 2,000 children and adults with disabilities, as stated on their company Facebook page. Not only do they offer community habilitation and residential services, but they also operate and run a preschool and pre-Kindergarten program, as well as a school for kids ages 5–21.
Serving as Grand Marshal of the day-long event was Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro, who spoke with the crowd about the importance of fostering an environment of inclusion and acceptance in our daily lives and actions. Molinaro, accompanied by New York State Senator Sue Serino, was all smiles as he signed the “Pledge to Power” — a new initiative by Abilities First to serve as a “commitment to yourself and to your community to advance diversity and inclusion in one’s personal, social and professional life.”
He also spoke of the local “Think Differently” campaign organized in Dutchess County, relating that, “ ‘Think Differently’ is about supporting, accepting and respecting every citizen, every neighbor, every friend, every family member of any ability and you’re all part of that.”
His speech was followed by several dance performances by the Hudson River Performing Arts company, a drum performance by the drummers of the Abilities First school and a group flash mob to the happy-go-lucky jam “Can’t Stop the Feeling.” The rest of the afternoon also included a session with the animals from Two by Two Zoo, and a basic sign language workshop with Gail Hancock-Huttel, a teacher at the Abilities First school. Additionally, the mall’s Regal Cinemas had a sensory-friendly showing of both “Logan” and “Lego Batman” at 10 A.M. with lower volume and brighter lights to adapt the movies and decrease the chances for overstimulation.
Though this was the second showcase of its kind hosted by Abilities First, this was the first year the showcase was held at the Galleria, and the event, which took months of preparation, seemed to be a resounding success — if for no other reason than for its celebration of all human lives, and the abundant smiles as kids and adults alike danced and jumped around during the flash mob.
One of the last things Marc Molinaro said in his speech remarked on the best path to maintaining this happiness and acceptance and extending it beyond this showcase: “Everybody sees the world through a different window and it’s up to us to help each other appreciate the view.”
If you want to learn more about Abilities First and their initiatives, visit http://www.abilitiesfirstny.org/
