January FC LIFE 2021

One way our Frenchman's Creek Charities Foundation's contributions help our community is to provide goods and services to special needs children. At Palm Beach Gardens Community High School, the funds go to the Exceptional Student Education (ESE) program which focuses on children with disabilities who need specially designed instruction and related services. The

purpose of ESE is to help each child with a disability progress in school and prepare for life after school. PBG High School created a coffee business at the school called “Cafe at the Gardens” where the students served 30 teachers coffee daily. By doing so, they learned how to prepare and deliver the coffee, and how to clean up. They also learned customer service skills. Other ESE students participated in a program called “Best Buddies.” This program helps foster relationships between students with and without disabilities. The school matches up a student from the ESE program with a student from the school’s regular population. The school had over 70 students register in this program. With the grant, they provide many activities on and off campus to help improve social and emotional development of their ESE population. Some years, they even hold a prom so the ESE students get the pleasure of participating in this festive social custom. There are videos on the web where you can see students participating in this special event. They look so happy. With Covid-19, the school had to adapt its programs and how our grant money was utilized. To assist the ESE students during their virtual education, the school sent home “Care Packages” which included calculators, headphones, workbooks and treats. The faculty said these packages made a big difference in the students' moral. The Learning Center at the Els Center for Excellence in Jupiter is a charter school serving students aged 3-14 with autism spectrum disorder. In the past, our foundation provided a grant which allowed the school to have a music and art program each week for its students. These programs help the students develop many different types of skills such as communication, joint attention, social engagement and healthy self expression. One person with autism writes “I just couldn’t get my words out...screaming was my only way to communicate.” Another noted that, “Art offers a way for people who have trouble speaking their mind with words to express themselves directly, without words.” Patti Raber

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