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.
12/12/2025
Bridging Recap!
From Bridging Coordinator Liz Underwood.
If this post had a soundtrack, it would definitely be “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?”
This week, we barely had a moment to sit still. Our students were on the move with visits to WCAX-TV , Generator , ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Vermont Flight Academy and The Pop for some lively pickleball. We wrapped it all up with an awesome Hip Hop session with Rose from 2inspire DANCE .
The holiday break might be creeping closer, but we’re not ready to hibernate just yet. We’ve got a couple more sessions ahead—and I’ve got some fun things planned. Stay tuned!
12/08/2025
🎬 Movie of the Month is back on Tuesday, December 16!
We’ll be showing a 20-minute video written and acted by Green Mountain Self-Advocates, featuring real stories about speaking up, knowing your rights, and living the life you choose.
🍿 Popcorn and drinks included!
Presented by the DEIA Committee
12/05/2025
On Tuesday we were proud to welcome state representatives Brian Minier, Edye Graning, Doug Bishop, Anthony Micklus, Bridget Burkhardt, Chea Waters Evans and Sarah “Sarita” Austin to CCS.
They listened to stories from families, staff and the individuals we support to gain a deeper understanding of our work, our challenges and the resources needed to help our community thrive.
Thank you to everyone that came out to join us.
Special thanks to August First for giving us wonderful treats to share with everyone.
12/04/2025
BRIDGING UPDATE from Liz Underwood, Coordinator:
This week, we started with a pivot. Luckily, our students are wonderfully flexible, and we adjusted our schedules to take some time learning about Judy Heumann and the Capital Crawl. Today, we split off into our pod groups to learn about money, ice cream, and art.
Next week, we continue into the new session with trips to WCAX-TV, Generator, and Succeed, among other fun spots. Friday, we will have more dancing with Rose, which will hopefully keep us warm in this wintery weather.
12/02/2025
We are now live on Instagram!
Come follow us.
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12/01/2025
Please join us tomorrow, December 2nd, at 2:00 PM at CCS!
We are excited to welcome six of our local representatives for a community conversation. This is a great opportunity to share what matters most to you, what is working well, what you hope to see continue and what areas need more attention.
Special Thanks to August First for providing treats.
11/26/2025
Give a little, relax a lot!
Now through December 20, every $20 donation to CCS enters you into a drawing for a free 90 minute massage at Theta Massage And Bodywork LLC.
To enter, visit our Donation page https://ccs-vt.networkforgood.com/, make a donation of $20 or more, choose Annual Fund, and write raffle in the notes.
Theta Massage and Body Work believes in promoting vitality, mobility, and balance. Intentional therapeutic massage is at the core of their practice. They pair compassionate care with a continually growing hands on skill set to support each client on their unique wellness journey.
A little support and a little relaxation can go a long way.
11/25/2025
PGLL and CELEBRATION OF TREES
This week the Colchester Peer Growth & Lifelong Learning group set up our beautiful tree at the University Mall in South Burlington for ANEW Place’s annual Celebration of Trees holiday fundraising event! ANEW Place provides a holistic continuum of services centered in love and dignity for individuals experiencing homelessness in Chittenden County, and all proceeds from the raffle help support their mission to provide tools for lifelong change so that each person may start anew.
Our CCS PGLL participants have been working hard all semester long to create beautiful ornaments and collect donations for our tree. If you win the PGLL “Wildlife of Vermont” tree, you not only get to take the tree home, you’ll also win over $200 worth of gift cards to local businesses, passes for a cruise on the Spirit of Ethan Allen, dog treats and toys, locally-made art, and so much more! Thank you to all the local businesses and individuals who generously donated to our tree. Caring for others through service is an integral part of what we do as a PGLL community, and we are grateful to be a part of this incredible annual tradition.
The Celebration of Trees event opens on Black Friday (11/28) and is open to the public every Wednesday-Sunday through December 14. Stop by to see all the beautiful trees in person and purchase raffle tickets.
11/21/2025
💥Bridging Update💥
The energy was palpable at Bridging this week as everyone gears up for their week off. November is flying by, and after today the students will not be back until December. We spent the week prepping for Pod Treasures. Dancing Free Beatz made some wonderful gluten free snacks for everyone to share. Students also worked on art projects and visited Burlington City Arts and The Pet Advantage to explore some of their dream jobs.
Our first Pod Treasures today was a hit. The students owned the spotlight at ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain. There was dancing, amazing snacks, and wonderful stories being told.
I hope everyone enjoys their Thanksgiving.🦃
11/20/2025
Opening Doors to College & Careers!
CCS was excited to send a strong group of staff and our Employment Team to this year’s Opening Doors to College & Careers conference hosted by UVM Center on Disability & Community Inclusion and Vermont APSE.
Ashley Dubois, our Employment and Education Senior Manager and current President of VT APSE, co-hosted the event with Bryan Dague from UVM’s CDCI. Tyler Kronoff, Supported Employment Coordinator, and Chris Micklus, System Administrator, presented a breakout session on the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Supported Employment. Our Outreach Coordinator, Bill Goldwyn, represented CCS with a vendor table focused on outreach and recruitment.
We were also proud to have two individuals supported by CCS showcasing their own small businesses with vendor tables, highlighting their creativity and entrepreneurial skills.
A great day of learning, leadership, and community connection for CCS!
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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.
