Milestones gives back for holidays

Just ahead of the holiday season, Milestones Day School and Transition Program successfully concluded its annual “Adopt a Family“ program, raising $3,000 to fulfill every holiday wish list item for three families in need.

For the past decade, Milestones has partnered with Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD) to match donors from the Milestones communities with families in the Greater Boston area.

Since October, Milestones students, staff, families, and supports have been learning about the families they will support, what they need, and gathering and wrapping up items from their wish lists.

Students participated in all aspects of sponsoring a family, including brainstorming and creating lists of specific items and needs, learning about families during therapy group classes, and wrapping and delivering donated items. Necessities like warm clothes, groceries, and gift cards to cover basic living expenses help get families facing financial and other challenges much-needed and appreciated support for the cold months ahead.

Milestones CEO Kimberly Rockers said: “Our team at Milestones is so proud of the work our students put in to helping make sure these three families got every last item they had requested for their holiday wish list, and we are so thankful to all our generous supporters including Milestones families and faculty. We will all head into the holiday season with a warm feeling in our hearts, knowing that our school community was able to meaningfully help neighbors in need.’’

The holiday season fundraising event is just one of several ways Milestone students, their families, and school staff work throughout the year to give back to the community and support people in need.

Other events Milestones students and staff participate in through the year include the “March a Mile” walk-athon in the autumn, the “Share a Smile” campaign to collect new toothbrushes and dental supplies for homeless families in September, Socktober in October to collect new socks for people experiencing homelessness, and Veterans Day Community Service, during which students put together care packages for active military members and veterans;

"All of our community philanthropic programs are opportunities to incorporate therapeutic skill development and reinforce a wide range of educational activities, and they’ve become a treasured part of the culture of Milestones," Ms. Rockers added. "On behalf of our faculty, I would like to specifically recognize the contributions of Colleen Young (Occupational Therapist), Jessica Reis (School Psychologist), Tim Mahoney (Principal), Carly Owens (Assistant Principal and Director of Curriculum), and our Post High School staff for their leadership and coordination of these important charitable initiatives."

About Milestones Day School & Transition Program

Milestones is a therapeutic day school located in Waltham, Mass., serving students ages 5-22. Our students are frequently diagnosed with autism and may also present with ADHD, anxiety, and other mental health issues or specific learning disabilities. Students are provided with challenging academics by certified teachers, including reading and math specialists, in a therapeutic milieu staffed by psychologists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, and board certified behavior analysts. Employment and community skills are also included for older students.