|
A
Message from Our President and Founder!
|
|
Dear Friends,
We want to thank you for your interest in exploring
vacation opportunities for persons with developmental
disabilities! Yes, the wonders of travel excite,
inspire, educate, amuse, and refresh us. Rich
in diversity, it takes us beyond our immediate
reality and shows us new ways of seeing both
the world around us and ourselves.
It is
through traveling throughout
this amazing and beautiful
world, that we seek to provide
outstanding, safe, and fun
experiences that truly engage
our travelers with the essence
and uniqueness of their chosen
vacation.
|
|
|
From our early beginnings as a program provided
by a local human services agency for persons with developmental
disabilities, to a separate corporation within that agency,
to our eventual independence as a not-for-profit corporation
on our own, we have always endeavored to provide the
highest quality services for those involved with us.
We are forever grateful for the opportunities and support
that our original parent agency, People Inc., of Buffalo,
New York, provided to us for so many years. We
will always have a special light in our hearts for all
the kindness, flexibility, patience, and humor they have
shown us over the years!
|
|
|
|
|
|
 My
own background spans over 35 years of experience
in therapeutic recreation with persons with developmental
disabilities, during which time this vacation service
was created in 1975, so many years ago. I confess
to a childhood fascination with the world ~ its people
and places ~ collecting maps from National Geographic,
writing to the tourism centers of every state and
country as I read about each of them in the World
Book Encyclopedia, and then mapping "pretend" journeys
around the United States and the World! All
of this before the age of 10 !
We can add to this
a love of exploring the world, a master's
degree in Experiential Education and International
Business, and a great love for nature, animals,
and the outdoors, with years of adaptive
outdoor activities for persons with disabilities
while living in Colorado. So it seems as
though my mind and heart have been seeking
to travel and experience the world for most
of my life!
|
|
Additionally,
in partnership in managing
People and Places, is Patty
Brown Schieder, joining
us first as a volunteer tour escort for many years,
and then as Assistant Director and Vice President. Patty was
also absorbed with travel as a child, spending countless
hours gazing through her Viewmaster at pictures of
various national parks, the Taj Mahal, and the Great
Wall of China ! After student teaching in Adelaide,
in southern Australia, lots of personal travels around
the world, a Masters in Rehabilitation Counseling,
and years working in residential services with persons
with developmental disabilities, she brings to the
program a rich diversity of education and travel
experiences. |
|
|
|
 Also
supporting our vacation services and managing
the vast array of paperwork, is Michele
Venezia. She is the friendly voice you hear
when you call our administrative office with questions.
You will find her organizational and creative talents
expressed in your Acceptance Package, Itinerary,
and even your Account Information ! While our tour
escorts guide you on your vacation, Michele is your
pre-trip vacation guide ! She brings to us her professional
background of 20 years as a senior level accountant
at a local CPA firm, as well as her personal cheerfulness,
her love of travel, and her passion for rescuing
animals. |
|
|
|
And, yes,
speaking about our incredible
vacation escorts: You will find that our passion
and caring for persons with developmental disabilities
and the world around us is shared by our many volunteer
tour escorts. We are deeply grateful for their generous
spirit, their professional and personal commitment,
and their invaluable contributions in providing outstanding
vacation experiences for each traveler.
|
|
|
We
are all looking forward to getting to know you on one
of our incredible vacations !
We hope you will feel free to contact us with your questions
and share your thoughts, ideas, and dreams for a world
of understanding through travel !
Warm Regards,
Joie Budington
|
|
| |
|
|
