Archway Programs has been selected as one of South Jersey Biz Magazine’s Nonprofit Stars of 2018. Award recipients consist of leading nonprofit organizations in the South Jersey area that go above and beyond in the community and make an impact in the lives of individuals who need care and support.  There are a total of seventeen Nonprofit Stars of 2018, which were nominated by South Jersey Biz Magazine’s editorial team. This is an annual nonprofit feature, highlighting the top nonprofit organizations throughout South Jersey who are making a difference in their communities. South Jersey Biz Magazine distributed their November 2018 issue on November 27, 2018.

In an effort to help support another nonprofit serving young children from birth to five years old, Archway Programs opens its doors to 1000 Books Before Kindergarten, a nonprofit which provides a nationwide early literacy program to thousands of  children. This new pilot program will launch its first satellite location at Archway Programs’ location in Washington Township, New Jersey. The new program will be dubbed “1000 Books Reading Nook” and will open its doors for the local community prior to officially opening for a special celebration. Staff from both organizations will celebrate alongside the local community at an open house on Friday, November 2nd, 2018 from 10 a.m. until 12 p.m. noon.

Archway Programs hosted its 8th Annual Cancer Awareness Walk on Wednesday, October 17th. This is a community-wide event where individuals served throughout all programs at Archway participated, as well as staff members and their families, to show their support.

Archway Programs held its 8th Annual Cancer Awareness Walk. Each year, the goal of the event is to educate others about cancer and raise funds to support individuals facing the fight against cancer. This year, the reason is a little more personal for Archway employees. The money raised will directly help support Archway employees and their families impacted by cancer and related medical issues they may be facing.  When Archway Programs employees learned that some of their colleagues had been diagnosed with cancer, they donated their time and money to support fundraising efforts in addition to this annual event. The community effort may have seemed like just another fun awareness event but seeing the level of support of those who showed up and helped contribute proved that every penny raised was not just going to a research fund. Awareness was certainly brought, conversations were sparked, but the reactions of those supported by the event showed that Archway Programs employees have a strong bond, much like a family, and everyone came together for all of the right reasons.

Archway Programs has partnered with Voorhees Pediatric Rehabilitation Services, in association with Voorhees Pediatric Facility, to expand its early intervention program, Step By Step, serving children from birth through three years old. This collaboration with Voorhees Pediatric Rehabilitation Services will give Archway Programs the opportunity to provide additional supports to children with special needs. This will allow staff from Voorhees Pediatric Rehabilitation Services to support Archway’s Step By Step Program and get out in the community to help more families. Both organizations began discussing the opportunity back in May and expect to start working together early September 2018.

Archway Programs has partnered with Voorhees Pediatric Rehabilitation Services, in association with Voorhees Pediatric Facility, to expand its early intervention program, Step By Step, serving children from birth through three years old. This collaboration with Voorhees Pediatric Rehabilitation Services will give Archway Programs the opportunity to provide additional supports to children with special needs. The Step By Step Program provides therapeutic services to children experiencing delays in reaching developmental milestones or with a medical diagnosis that puts them at risk for delay. This will allow staff from Voorhees Pediatric Rehabilitation Services to support Archway’s Step By Step Program and get out in the community to help more families. Both organizations began discussing the opportunity back in May and expect to start working together early September 2018.

Archway Programs continues to grow and expand its special education services with the launch of a new program to benefit Camden students. The Archway School at Cooper’s Poynt, an approved private school, offers a groundbreaking method for delivering academics, social and life skills to students seeking private school placement in a public school. This program will serve students in Camden City and surrounding school districts, grades kindergarten through fifth (ages five to ten) and will implement a multisensory approach to learning. The objective is to focus on each child’s strengths while providing positive developmental supports to those with behavioral, emotional, intellectual and/or multiple disabilities. The Archway School at Cooper’s Poynt will bridge a gap in providing students and families in Camden the supports needed to address each child’s individualized needs and challenges. Archway Programs will utilize vacant space in Cooper’s Poynt Family School, located in the neighborhood of North Camden. Similar to the Archway Schools, this program will operate during normal school hours on a ten month school year beginning September 6, 2018.

Last week Archway School students held their Annual Extended School Year Summer Flower Show for an employee-wide event to showcase their skills and talents from the horticultural on-campus program. The event took place on Wednesday, August 8th and ran all day in the Career Center at Archway’s Upper School. Kristine Henle-Blank, Horticulture Instructor, and participating Archway students transformed the space to mirror the theme which was inspired by their favorite exhibit at this year’s Philadelphia Flower Show. As Archway employees arrived, they stepped into Archway’s very own “Lantern Festival” complete with lights, Asian inspired music, handmade lanterns and of course several floral masterpieces, each made by various students who participate in the horticultural program.

Before summer came to a close, Archway staff and students from The Archway Schools celebrated the 10th Annual Archway Games, inspired by the Special Olympics. The Archway Games is a fun annual event that gives students an opportunity to compete in activities, work on skills including fine and gross motor, team building and sportsmanship. All of the students at the Archway Schools have an opportunity to interact with each other on different levels while cheering each other on.

This morning the Archway Schools kicked off the 10th Annual Archway Games, inspired by the Special Olympics, to gear up for next week’s festivities. Today’s Opening Ceremony consisted of a parade, introduction and processional of teams, the National Anthem was beautifully sung by former Archway student, the (cardboard) torch was ‘lit’, there was even a special guest speaker. Before closing remarks, an oath was sworn by athletes and judges in the name of sportsmanship, fairness and fun. This year’s games will take place Monday, August 13th through Thursday, August 16th with a Closing Ceremony on Friday, August 17th.