The Arc Jefferson – St. Lawrence Foundation, Inc. has received a $25,000 Community Impact Grant from New York Life in support of the Bridges program and Bright Beginnings Early Learning Center.

Bridges provides services and supports to children and youth with disabilities from age three into early adulthood and offers vital afterschool and weekend activities which help build social skills, grow independence, gain needed life skills, assist with schoolwork, and provide recreation.  

Bright Beginnings Early Learning Center offers specialized programming for children with disabilities, providing a wide range of services from infancy though age five, that include early intervention services, an integrated pre-school and an array of therapies such as physical therapy and speech services.  

The grant will help the organization add items to the playground at Bright Beginnings such as new shade structures and additional swings while also increasing the number of sensory items available for use by those with neurodiverse needs in both programs.

“Many lives will be positively impacted by New York Life’s investment in the Bridges and Bright Beginnings Programs and we are extremely grateful for its support,” said Michelle Carpenter, Executive Director of the Foundation. “With support from New York Life, we will be able to enhance therapy and gross motor spaces for the children we support.”

“I’m proud to work for a company that encourages its agents and employees to devote their time, energy and talents to support the needs and priorities of their local community,” said Raymond Sindone, an agent with New York Life’s Finger Lakes General Office and The Arc Jefferson – St. Lawrence Foundation, Inc.’s “champion” who applied for this grant. “We are pleased that our partnership will have a long-lasting impact on both Bridges and Bright Beginnings and the children, youth and young adults that they serve."

The Community Impact Grant program awards grants of up to $25,000 to local nonprofit organizations, which are championed by New York Life agents and employees. Since the program’s inception in 2008, nearly 760 grants totaling more than $10 million have been awarded to nonprofits across the country.