Easter Seals Disability Services

The Story of Easter Seals

Easter Seals has been helping individuals with disabilities and special needs, and their families, live better lives for more than 80 years. Whether helping someone improve physical mobility, return to work or simply gain greater independence for everyday living, Easter Seals offers a variety of services to help people with disabilities address life's challenges and achieve personal goals.

Tragedy Leads to Inspiration
In 1907, Ohio-businessman Edgar Allen lost his son in a streetcar accident. The lack of adequate medical services available to save his son prompted Allen to sell his business and begin a fund-raising campaign to build a hospital in his hometown of Elyria, Ohio. Through this new hospital, Allen was surprised to learn that children with disabilities were often hidden from public view. Inspired by this discovery, in 1919 Allen founded what became known as the National Society for Crippled Children, the first organization of its kind.

The Birth of the Seal
In the spring of 1934, the organization launched its first Easter "seals" campaign to raise money for its services. To show their support, donors placed the seals on envelopes and letters. Cleveland Plain Dealer cartoonist J.H. Donahey designed the first seal. Donahey based the design on a concept of simplicity because those served by the charity asked "simply for the right to live a normal life."

The lily -- a symbol of spring -- was officially incorporated as Easter Seals' logo in 1952 for its association with resurrection and new life and has appeared on each seal since.

Easter Seals Emerges
The overwhelming public support for the Easter "seals" campaign triggered a nationwide expansion of the organization and a swell of grassroots efforts on behalf of people with disabilities. By 1967, the Easter "seal" was so well recognized, the organization formally adopted the name "Easter Seals."

Easter Seals Today
Easter Seals assists more than one million children and adults with disabilities and their families annually through a nationwide network of more than 450 service sites. Each center provides top-quality, family-focused and innovative services tailored to meet the specific needs of the particular community it serves.

Primary Easter Seals services include:

 Medical Rehabilitation
     Early Intervention
     Physical Therapy
     Occupational Therapy
     Speech and Hearing Therapy
 Job Training and Employment
 Child Care
 Adult Day Services
 Camping and Recreation

Easter Seals also advocates for the passage of legislation to help people with disabilities achieve independence, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Passed in 1990, the ADA prohibits discrimination against anyone who has a mental or physical disability, guaranteeing the civil rights of people with disabilities.

At the core of the Easter Seals organization is a common passion for caring, shared by its 13,000 staff members and thousands of volunteers, and by those who support its mission. This heart-felt commitment to helping people with disabilities and their families is what Easter Seals is all about.

The History of Easter Seals Connecticut, Inc.

Easter Seals began affiliate operations in Connecticut in 1935 as the Connecticut Society for Crippled Children and Adults, Inc., working primarily with field workers and occupational therapists that treated individuals with disabilities. In 1950, a summer camp was established in Trumbull, CT and named Camp Hemlocks. The camp relocated to Hebron, CT in 1974 and just celebrated its 30th year of operation at that site with expanded programs and services. It is on those grounds that the Administrative offices of Easter Seals Connecticut, Inc. are located.

In the 1990s, the organization’s name was changed to Easter Seals Connecticut, Inc. In 1999, the Child Development Center opened in Meriden, CT. In December 2001, Easter Seals Connecticut was chosen by National Easter Seals to recommence affiliate operations in Rhode Island. This was based on sound management and the ability of Easter Seals Connecticut to bring continuity to the region. In late 2002, Easter Seals Connecticut was awarded the Head Start contract for the communities of Meriden, Wallingford, Southington and Berlin to provide Head Start services in those communities and is now the largest Birth to Three provider in the state.

Easter Seals Connecticut continually seeks to identify and serve the needs of children and adults with disabilities or special needs in many ways. We serve families in 118 of Connecticut’s 169 cities and towns. 75 percent of the children served in the Child Development Center and 98 percent of those served in Head Start programs are from low-income families, as are most in the Birth to Three program. All of those who attend sessions at Easter Seals Camp Hemlocks, Connecticut’s only barrier-free overnight camp for persons with disabilities, receive financial assistance. Most of the adults served in our Adult Day, Fulfillment Services and Senior Community Service Employment programs fall into the low-income category. The required income for the Senior Community Service Employment Program is no more than 125% of the federal poverty level. Easter Seals Connecticut’s Mobility Center is the only location in the state that disabled or elderly drivers can go for driving assessment and vehicle prescription services.

In addition to the programs described above, Easter Seals Connecticut offers a variety of services in nine locations throughout the state including medical rehabilitation (physical, occupational and speech therapies), audiology, camping and respite, early intervention, vocational training and adult day services. Easter Seals Camp Hemlocks, the only barrier-free overnight camp for the disabled in the state, is accredited by the American Camping Association. The Child Development Center received accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) in 2003. That is the highest accreditation possible for early childhood centers. In addition, it received a service award from the City of Meriden Commission on Disabilities for outstanding service to children in the community with disabilities. NAEYC accreditation for the Head Start program was attained in 2006.