CCS provides essential supports to people with intellectual disabilities and autism
Champlain Community Services (CCS), Inc., now celebrating its 55th year of serving our community, offers coordinated one-to-one supported employment, home & shared living, school-to-career transition, and community supports to adults and children with intellectual disabilities and autism in Chittenden, Grand Isle, and Franklin Counties, Vermont. We also promote and coordinate self-advocacy activities, and offer crisis (24 hour on-call response) and respite (staffing and coordination of additional hours)
A small, family-centered organization providing lifelong supports, CCS offers personalized, intentional service. We work closely with each individual — and the people important to them — to help them create a fulfilling life respectful of his or her unique goals and dreams.
10/16/2025
Clay Creations with the Shelburne Craft School!
As we come to wind down our first collaboration with Shelburne Craft School, our group has been showing off their creativity with clay!
Over the last two weeks, participants learned the full process from shaping their clay pieces just the right thickness (too thick and they might explode in the kiln🤯) to bringing their creations to life with layers of paint. Each layer needed time to dry before adding the next, helping the colors truly stand out. 🎨✨
The finished pieces turned out amazing. Each one reflects a different spark of creativity and personality.
👏 A huge thank you to Shelburne Craft School for welcoming us and helping everyone explore new skills and creative expression!
10/11/2025
Film screening ("The Paper Bag Plan") and discussion, sponsored by our friends and colleagues at Upper Valley Services - Vermont. The Savoy Theater, Oct. 20th.
Our pods were out and about today! Good Company visited AO Glass, Journey Men explored the South Burlington Public Library, and Dancing Free Beatz baked up treats for next week’s Bake Sale. 🍪✨
Monday everyone kept busy while I was away with a movie day featuring Best Summer Ever and a fun trip to Burlington City Arts.
Edward returned Wednesday for more theater and improv fun. This group might be ready for the stage soon! 🎭
Stay tuned to see where they go next 💚
Special thanks to Mira from South Burlington Public Library, Rich from AO Glass, and Lisa and Quinn from BCA.
10/08/2025
MANY THANKS to American Flatbread Burlington Hearth and everyone who turned out to our Benefit Bake on Tuesday. AFB is an amazing partner for so many community projects and we are so glad to be one of them!
10/07/2025
Benefit Bake is underway at American Flatbread!
10/07/2025
We’re hiring!
Bring your passion for helping others and make a difference every day.
👉 Direct Support Professional
👉 Service Coordinator
👉 Part-Time Residential DSP
Learn more & apply here: https://www.ccs-vt.org/current-openings
10/03/2025
🍂 Bridging Update, brought to you by Liz Underwood
Here’s what our groups were up to this week:
✨ Journey Men baked the apples they picked last week (the pie and crisp disappeared before we could snap a photo 👀). WCAX-TV welcomed the group for a behind the scenes look at the world of broadcasting.
🍦 Good Company toured the Ben & Jerry's Factory, learning how new flavors are created and of course doing some taste testing of their own.
🎾 Dancing Free Beatz tried their hand at pickleball and also got a lesson on tech safety from our very own System Administrator, Chris.
⭐ Special thanks to Jay Barton at WCAX and Sarah Fidler at Ben and Jerrys
Cant say we don't have fun here!
10/02/2025
Thursday Thoughts 💭
09/29/2025
⏰ Reminder: Benefit Bake is Next Week! ⏰
On Tuesday, October 7th, American Flatbread Burlington Hearth will donate to CCS for every flatbread sold:
🍕 $3.50 for each large flatbread
🍕 $1.75 for each small flatbread
Go big with your pizza, go big with your impact! www.ccs-vt.org
09/26/2025
BRIDGING UPDATE from Liz Underwood, Coordinator:
Hi all, I am writing today with fun news. As of this week, each of our pod groups have named themselves! In your calendars, rather than simply Groups 1-3, we now have The Journey Men (Community Connections), Dancing Freebz (Independent Living), and Good Company (Career Exploration). What a crew!
This week, the students went on some tours of ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Green Mountain Compost, and Gardener's Supply Company, and learned the skills of cooking, cleaning, and safety. Today, the crew heads to Chapin Orchard for some apple picking, a Peer Job Tour with Brandon at Hannaford Supermarkets, and heading upstairs for some Hazards in the Kitchen with Thomas and Brandon.
Next week, the groups will continue their separate pods, with trips to WCAX, Pop Pickleball, Ben and Jerry's, along with more connecting and learning here at the office. Should be tons of fun.
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Champlain Community Services (CCS), Inc. is in its 53rd year of serving our community. We provide essential, coordinated supports - at work, at home, in school, for life - to Vermonters with intellectual disabilities and autism. Our goal is to build a community where everyone participates, and everyone belongs.
Our services are intentional, carefully coordinated, and highly personalized. We work closely with each individual — and their families and other people important to them — to support them in creating a life directed by her or his unique goals and dreams.
A true grassroots success story, CCS was founded by the family members of people with intellectual disabilities and has emerged as a recognized leader in its field.
CCS partners with dozens of employers across all sectors of the economy on our national-award-winning supported employment program, Way2Work. Through Way2Work we offer a unique continuum of employment training, placement, and career development from the pre-vocational stage through retirement. Our consumers are succeeding at employment - and self-employment - in the competitive economy, while helping employers strengthen and diversify their workforces.
We provide home supports and shared living options as well as community supports. CCS also promotes and co-facilitates advocacy activities, hosting Champlain Voices self-advocacy group.
CCS offers crisis (24 hour on-call response) and respite (staffing and coordination of additional hours).
If you share our vision of a truly inclusive community and want to learn more about how to access our services, join our staff, volunteer your time, or support our work, please contact us. For more, visit our website at www.ccs-vt.org.
