December 2019 Newsletter
Happy Holidays from PHILLIPS Programs!
Wishing you a wonderful holiday season and a joyous New Year!
PHILLIPS Moment: A Parent Letter
I am a parent of a High School student at PHILLIPS Programs. My child has attended PHILLIPS School ~ Annandale for 2 years. My son is diagnosed with ADHD along with other Special Needs. A report that we received from the hospital stated that he will need assistance for the remainder of his life. My son was resistant to PHILLIPS Programs at first, but after a short time he started coming home telling me with a smile on his face, how much he enjoyed school.
The incentive program of the school store and point sheet helped motivate him in a positive way to show expected behaviors. I have never seen this sense of pride in my son before. I would wait until he left the room and begin thanking God with tears of joy in my heart. I was worried about him starting school, and remembering how depressing it was to receive phone calls every day from his Public School placement. When my son’s first report card came home from PHILLIPS, I almost fell to the ground. He has never brought home A’s and B’s before, my eyes filled up with joyful tears. PHILLIPS Programs is the best thing that ever happened to my family. My stress level has gotten so much better, my son has become a completely different young man for the better.
I wish all children with special needs had access to this experience. I brag all the time to my friends and family about PHILLIPS. I can’t thank the school enough for saving my son. They not only help with my son’s behaviors in school, but also has helped my family with our struggles at home and in the community. My son’s counselor, has been a support for both my son and myself. I have confided in her about financial challenges and lack of resources in our home and she was quickly able to help my family.
I am so very grateful for all the help that I have been blessed to receive from PHILLIPS Programs.
When you invest in PHILLIPS programs with an annual gift, you ensure that our youth have learning environments that focus on success and that minimize the risk of failure through individualized attention that builds relationships and trust.
Any gift you send today will have a multiplicative effect on the lives of these children.
INVEST in our Youth: You Can Help Make a Difference!
The Annual Campaign is PHILLIPS Programs top giving priority for individual donors, because it directly supports our greatest assets—our youth and staff. Dollars raised each year allow PHILLIPS to accomplish the following:
Build a hydroponic vertical farm and commercial kitchen to offer engaging curriculum that was recognized by an international foundation championing zero barriers to employment
Scholarships for young adults going on to community colleges and four year institutions – one of our graduates is a first generation to attend college completing his third year at an HBCU supported in part by our college scholarship fund
Purchase equipment for our innovative entrepreneurial 3D design and print program
Acquire chrome books which feature extraordinary apps to aid in learning and executive functioning
Offer emergency assistance to families in need; paying a utility bill, rent assistance, and basic life essentials
That is real impact.
91 cents of every dollar goes directly to our youth.
Your support will be put to use immediately. Every dollar you donate multiplies in impact. We are constructing another commercial kitchen at a second campus to offer culinary arts to more students; to provide assistive technologies to enable youth on the spectrum to communicate, engage and self-soothe and to provide equipment addressing the sensory needs of our youth.
Your support of PHILLIPS programs made this possible. Everything we do is fueled by your compassionate support.
PHILLIPS School~Fairfax Welcomes New Furry Friends
Students at PHILLIPS School~Fairfax are enjoying their long term visitors who arrived this month: baby chickens and fertile eggs from a farm in Germantown, MD. Two high school classrooms have the chickens for 4 weeks. Early this month, the eggs hatched! Staff and student have dubbed this, "The best science experiment ever!"
Building Futures: Significant Progress on Second House Construction
PHILLIPS’ youth have been busy continuing their work on constructing a house. Building Futures, a PHILLIPS Career Partners program, provides youth with academic programming, positive behavioral supports, industry certification and related services while they learn the building trades as part of their school day. Their recent updates include adding the drywall and starting the build on bedrooms. Learn more about Career Partners and how PHILLIPS is changing the employment landscape for youth with behavioral health needs here.