Displaying items by tag: Aim Services

SARATOGA SPRINGS - State representatives and local leaders alike gathered to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act, and the work of AIM Services at the Garden Tent at the Adelphi Hotel on July 27.

The Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA, was signed into law on July 26, 1990 by Pres. George H.W. Bush and prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, and gives civil rights protections to those individuals - similar to those provided to individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, age, and religion.

“The ADA is a dramatic renewal not only for those with disabilities but for all of us,” June MacClelland, senior director and chief compliance officer of AIM Services, Inc., told the crowd assembled for the gathering. This historic act was the world’s first comprehensive declaration of equality for people with disabilities.

A table adjacent to the speaker’s podium displayed a handful of signed citations, proclamations and certificates marking the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act and recognizing the work by AIM Services.  Formed in 1979, the non-profit organization provides residential and community-based services to people with physical and intellectual disabilities, including those with traumatic brain injuries and those who are
looking for nursing home transition or diversion. 

 “It has become one of the largest agencies providing support and services to individuals with diverse abilities in upstate New York,” MacClelland said, adding that the goal is in “supporting people in reaching their own personal goals and their own personal dreams.” One-third of all families in the United States are impacted by disability, according to the organization. 

“We as a city and as a community have done so much, but we still share the responsibility to eliminate all barriers – physical, emotional, health-related and spiritual, to ensure all of us have the opportunity to live as enriched members of our own community,” MacClelland said. “AIM Services is committed to this challenge and it is a challenge every single day.”  The event launched the organization’s weeklong “Croquet Off the Green” - a reimagined fundraising activity to comply with the realities and rules of the COVID19 pandemic runs through Aug. 2 and secured the participation of more than 30 Saratoga Springs businesses. For more information about those activities, go to: aimservicesinc.org/events/croquet/. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Christopher Lyons, Executive Director of AIM Services Inc. of Saratoga Springs, announced today that Jeff Vukelic, President and CEO of Saratoga Eagle was unanimously elected to the AIM Services Board of Directors at its April 2020 meeting. 

“AIM Services is very near and dear to my heart for personal reasons and I embrace their ‘person-centered’ focus of support,” said Vukelic at his first AIM Services board meeting.

Vukelic immediately offered the organization a $10,000 Giving Tuesday Now challenge grant to help the organization reach its 2020 annual fund goal and continue to provide essential care during the COVID19 pandemic to the vulnerable population that AIM serves every day. Vukelic has agreed to match every donation to AIM dollar-for-dollar, up to $10,000, through May 30, 2020.

“Jeff recognized the opportunity Giving Tuesday Now presents for AIM and wasted no time in offering this generous challenge,” said Lyons. “At a time when our direct support professionals are giving new meaning to supporting others and dedication to their jobs, Jeff stepped up to show that appreciation and fill an important health care need locally.” 

“It is a critical time in our country and in our community and it will take all of us working together to raise what we need to ensure those with diverse abilities are not forgotten during this pandemic.” said Vukelic.

Vukelic joins AIM Board President Brian Gwynn as well as other board members Martin “Buddy” Glastetter, Neil Edmonds, John Paolucci, Jim Norton, Robert Ricketts, Tara Anne Pleat, Denise Stasik, Don Kozak, John Fleming, Linda Casse, and Mitch Havens in guiding the growing service organization. Vukelic also currently serves as vice chairman for the board of directors of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, is a member of the board of trustees of the Saratoga Regional YMCA, and is a trustee at LeMoyne College.

 Located in Saratoga Springs, AIM Services, Inc. is a non-profit organization serving over 3,000 individuals with physical and intellectual disabilities and their families, in Saratoga, Warren and Washington Counties, with a reach covering all of eastern New York including Long Island’s Suffolk County. AIM Services, Inc. provides support unique to each person’s individualized needs, goals and dreams. AIM’s mission revolves around promoting inclusion, independence, and self-confidence in those they serve through community-based services, advocacy and education.

In response to the COVID19 crisis, a new national day of giving, Giving Tuesday Now was created for May 5. The goal is to maximize the ability of charitable organizations to raise funds during this critical time. For AIM Services, which serves a uniquely vulnerable population, the event is especially poignant and Vukelic’s challenge becomes critically important during this health crisis. By announcing the $10,000 challenge, Vukelic hopes to motivate others to donate in order to help AIM secure resources it needs to continue to serve the thousands of members of the disabled population and provide the DSP workers with the safe PPE that they need. As of May 7, almost $6,000 has been donated, exceeding the halfway mark to their $10,000 match goal.

More about AIM’s annual fund, Keeping Their Dreams Alive can be found on their website.