Center for Family Involvement

02/16/2026

🔦Shining the Spotlight💥3D-printed creations help individuals with disabilities. Medical student at Virginia Commonwealth University, Nihal Patel, has designed and created a variety of custom devices to address unique challenges that are often overlooked.

Here’s how it started … at an Adaptive Fashion Show he met the mother of one of the models in the show, an elementary school student with quadriplegia, who was frustrated that she couldn’t easily hold a water bottle as she pushed her son’s wheelchair.

“It is such a specific problem that most people wouldn’t ever consider needing a solution for,” Patel said. “But it's the ability to navigate those everyday situations that add up to someone’s quality of life.”

With inspiration and experience in computer-aided design, Patel got to work. He met with the family again to measure the exact dimensions of the wheelchair, and using his hobbyist knowledge, drafted a design for a water bottle holder that could attach to the wheelchair.

Patel then took that design to The Workshop, an equipment depot and makerspace in Cabell, where VCU students can reserve tools like laser cutters, quilting machines and 3D printers.

After he fed the design into the 3D printer, the machine slowly deposited a heated filament, layer by layer. A few hours later, he had a small cupholder that would clip onto the boy’s wheelchair.

At the time, Patel assumed it would be a one-off project. But when he watched this child’s mother gush with joy and gratitude, calling family members over FaceTime to show them the device he had just handed her, he was hooked.

“Her reaction is the reason I’m still doing this,” Patel said. “She had been through so much and I think she just felt very seen. I want to make others feel that way and that experience showed me a way of doing it.”

Story Link: news.vcu.edu/article/2026/02/medical-students-3d-printed-creations-help-individuals-with-disabilities

Who are we?
tinyurl.com/CFI-PPD-VCU

1 ON 1 SUPPORT | ALWAYS FREE

Find us on Instagram: center4familyinvolvement

The Center for Family Involvement is affiliated with: VCU School of Education Association of University Centers on Disabilities Partnership for People with Disabilities

02/16/2026

Awesome 🤩

A one-of-a-kind museum chronicling disability history is reopening after a five-year hiatus in a new, bigger space that's hundreds of miles away from its previous home.

02/13/2026

Pathways to Employment & Independent Living
February 19, 2026 | 6:00 - 7:30 pm

Competitive Integrated Employment helps youth with disabilities build independence, gain job skills, and become active members of their community. Join us for this free, live webinar to learn how youth can work in the community, earn minimum wage or higher, and build a future after high school. Even students with significant disabilities can succeed at work with the right supports.

This session will cover the benefits of working, address common fears and myths, and share practical ways to remove barriers to getting and keeping a job.

REGISTER HERE: http://tinyurl.com/3wjzthev

This webinar will be presented on Zoom. It will not be recorded.

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(This session is for parents and caregivers. Keep an eye out for the youth session, which will be held Feb 25 & 26.)

02/13/2026

🤩🤩🤩

📣 We are excited to share that we looking for people with developmental disabilities (DD) and/or self-advocates to join three of our IFSP Regional Councils!

You'll become part of a dedicated group of volunteers who help the Virginia Dept. of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) make things better for people with DD and their families.

WHAT YOU'LL DO AS AN IFSP COUNCIL MEMBER:
• Grow leadership skills;
• Build community connections;
• Learn about Virginia's developmental disability service system;
• Help DBHDS make information easier to understand and share;
• Meet other people who share your passion for helping others with developmental disabilities!.. and more!

WHO CAN APPLY TO JOIN A COUNCIL?
• People with DD and/or self-advocates over the age of 18;
• People with DD and/or self-advocates who live in the IFSP Western Region, the IFSP Northern Region, and the IFSP Central Region (check out our map: https://ifsp.tny.cc/regional-map); and
• People who are on the DD Waivers Waitlist, receiving DD Waiver services, or living independently

HOW DO I JOIN?
• Apply online by Monday, March 23rd: surveymonkey.com/r/IFSP-Regional-2026

WHAT IF I HAVE QUESTIONS?
Please email us: IFSPCommunity@dbhds.virginia.gov

Stay tuned to this page, where we'll share a little more about the work of our Councils and some of the fantastic people who serve on them!

02/13/2026

Clovernook is proud to collaborate with the Braille Institute and Artifact Studios on the upcoming documentary "Brailled It," which follows competitors of the Braille Challenge.

For the film’s February 21 premiere, our team is producing custom tactile print materials that allow audiences to experience the artwork through braille and touch, not just sight. Braille literacy opens doors, and we’re proud to support initiatives like this that highlight those who are leading the way. 💚

02/13/2026

🗓️VA DISABILITY EVENT - Mark your calendars!

Evergreen Elementary - Midlothia - DISABILITIES RESOURCE FAIR
MARCH 25, 2026 6:00 - 7:30 PM

Join us for an inclusive and informative event connecting families, educators, and community members with local organizations and resources that support individuals with disabilities.

Evergreen Elementary
1701 E. Evergreen Pkwy
Midlothian, VA 23114

FOR PARENTS/CAREGIVERS:

• Connect with community resources to help you support your loved one with disabilities.
FOR STUDENTS:
• Enjoy family-friendly accessible activities.
• Opportunities to connect with specialists and advocates.
• Please note that childcare is not provided.
Children must be supervised by a caregiver at all times.

SOME OF THE ORGANIZATIONS YOU CAN MEET AT THIS EVENT:

• PEATC
• CCPS SPED Parent & Family Liaison
• CCPS Family Engagement
• Chesterfield Dept of Social Services
• Chesterfield Community Services Board
• Chesterfield Parks and Recreation
• The Arc of Virginia
• REACH - RBHA
• Chesterfield Mental Health
• Virginia Down Syndrome Association

Registration is not required but encouraged.

For more information, contact
Lauren Robinson and Neely Cooke at evergreenptaspedagmail.com

Register at:
https://forms.gle/JYJeZSoypxYyx8dS7
or scan the QR Code.

Evergreen Elementary Parent Teacher Association

02/12/2026

Families play a vital role in transition planning. They know their students best and can help reinforce important skills at home. Use this resource from DARS Pre-ETS to share tips with families on how they can support Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS): Family Support of Pre-ETS https://preets.vcurrtc.org/resources/publications/download.cfm?id=41

02/12/2026

🎙️ A new podcast dropped today!

In episode six, we are joined by Dr. Carol Schall, the principal investigator of Research Study Five. She breaks down the research that she and her team are conducting to increase the quality of supported employment services provided to people with IDD by establishing a valid and reliable scale for implementation.

👉 Scan the QR code to check out the podcast page!

02/12/2026

Brad Lomax was a powerful force for both disability rights and racial justice. His advocacy helped lay the foundation for the Americans with Disabilities Act.

He founded one of the first independent living centers in the country and helped organize the 1977 Section 504 Sit-in, pushing for the enforcement of civil rights protections for people with disabilities.

Watch a short documentary on the 1977 sit-in: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyWcCuVta7M

02/11/2026

🩷🩷🩷

More than 100,000 people with disabilities are expected at special proms planned at sites around the world all timed to coincide with Valentine's Day.

02/11/2026

🔦Shining The Spotlight💥 Inside the Teen-Run Hotline Meeting America’s Mental Health Crisis

Teen Line’s peer support can be a lifeline for callers. The volunteers behind it say it’s transformative for them too.

Teen Line’s mission feels more critical than ever. Approximately 40 percent of U.S. high-school students report persistent sadness or hopelessness, and su***de remains the second leading cause of death for youth ages 10 to 24, according to the CDC.

Teen Line fills a widening gap in the nation’s fraying youth mental health system — with no federal funding, only grants, donations and the dedication of 100 teen volunteers who log more than 10,000 contacts a year from youth around the world.

At a time when youth mental health needs are escalating, federal support for key programs is shrinking. That makes Teen Line’s peer-to-peer model all the more essential.

Volunteers like Sanaya must be at least 14 years old and complete a rigorous selection and training process before taking their first call. “It starts with a written application and then interviews,” she explains.

“If you get accepted, you get about three months of classroom training where you learn about the various topics you could be covering — anything from bullying to eating disorders to su***de — and how to manage those when you’re on a call. We also learn active listening and ways to make people feel heard.”

That training includes practice calls, guest speakers from organizations like the R**e Treatment Center, and lessons in emotional regulation and crisis response.

Only after completing this curriculum do volunteers begin answering emails, then texts and finally phone calls.

Sanaya usually takes about one shift a week, more than the minimum commitment of two shifts a month. “It’s definitely one of my favorite things to do after school,” she says.

“I love meeting all of the people that work there. We share a lot of the same interests, and I’ve made some really close friends at Teen Line.”

LINK (article is much longer): reasonstobecheerful.world/teen-mental-health-peer-support-hotline-california

TeenLine.org
Call: 1-800-852-8336 6-10PM PST
Text: 839863
Teen Line

Other Resources: NAMI Central Virginia NAMI Piedmont Tri-County NAMI Coastal Virginia NAMI Virginia NAMI 988 Su***de & Crisis Lifeline 988

Who are we?
tinyurl.com/CFI-PPD-VCU

1 ON 1 SUPPORT | ALWAYS FREE

Find us on Instagram: center4familyinvolvement

The Center for Family Involvement is affiliated with: VCU School of Education Association of University Centers on Disabilities Partnership for People with Disabilities