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This Is the Start of a Beautiful Partnership…

teacher and boy with a puzzleStarting in August, the Center for the Visually Impaired welcomes our new neighbor and partner to 739 W Peachtree, the Ellis Center.  The Ellis Center is a nonprofit organization serving children with complex communication needs, vision impairments and multiple disabilities and their community, focusing on what IS possible.  We are excited to welcome their families and children, however they will not be new faces for us as many have started their journey in our BEGIN program.

One such example is the founders of Ellis Center, Alison and Tim Caputo, and their son Damian.  Their journey began with the birth of Damian in 2006, where he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy.  At a young age Damian, like many of Ellis’ students and campers, participated in the BEGIN program, but at age 5 entered the public school system where he began to feel isolated and unheard.  His needs were not being met and they knew something had to change.  Alison gathered regional and national experts with the best practices and cutting-edge developments in the field of Special Education to innovate a model of education truly unique in Atlanta, and moreover in the South East.  The Ellis School grew over the years into the Ellis Center,  striving to unlock the potential of the most vulnerable and under-represented demographic of special needs children who are too often written off as not having potential to express themselves, the ability to communicate, or to develop their own unique personality, dreams, and ability to thrive.

Damian is now 13 and has definitely grown and thrived at Ellis like many that are served through their four programs including a full-time school, Camp ImpAACt, community education, and evaluation services.  We are excited to welcome their families back to the Center for the Visually Impaired, and we look forward to a great partnership in the years to come.

You can check out more about their programs by visiting www.elliscenter.org or following them on Facebook and Instagram for regular updates and happenings.