SPARC Honored Sen. Howell and Del. Plum at Pancake Breakfast for Support of Region’s “Forgotten”

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Contact: Shawn Flaherty, 703-554-3609

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SPARC Honored Sen. Howell and Del. Plum at Pancake Breakfast for Support of Region’s “Forgotten”

Event Raised $18K to Help Fund Programming for People with Severe Disabilities

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VIENNA, Va. (June 12, 2023)--SPARC, a non-profit that provides day programs for adults with disabilities, raised nearly $18,000 at its 2nd Annual Pancake Breakfast held on June 10. During the event, State Senator Janet Howell was recognized with SPARC’s Hero Award for her significant and ongoing support of SPARC and the people it serves. In addition, Delegate Ken Plum received a distinguished service award for his many years of service to Fairfax County and those in need.

“Bringing people together for a great cause and a stack of pancakes symbolizes community. Both Senator Howell and Delegate Plum embody that spirit. Their actions and years of service have lifted our SPARC participants and their families in ways that are immeasurable. Being able to recognize both at our breakfast was a small token of our appreciation,” explained Debi Alexander, Executive Director, SPARC.

Senator Howell received the SPARC Hero Award for her work in Richmond to fund SPARC as a pilot for all adults with disabilities who require an alternative to the Medicaid model.?Senator Howell is one of Virginia’s most influential senators, second in seniority in the Senate and the longest serving female Virginia legislator.?She is also the first woman to serve a Chair of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee. Howell is credited with major legal reforms to overhaul Virginia’s family violence laws to protect children from sexual predators.?In addition, she spearheaded the mental health law reform in the Senate and serves on the Mental Health in the Twenty First Century Commission.??

Over the years, Delegate Plum, who is retiring, has been an extraordinary friend to SPARC since the opening of its first club in Reston at the Cathy Hudgins Southgate Community Center 17 years ago.?Plum is widely recognized as one of the most responsive legislators for constituent services.?He is credited with fighting for full funding of public schools, supporting critical environmental decisions, and redefining policing to ensure that mental health issues are handled by appropriate professionals. As the second longest serving delegate in the history of Virginia, Plum has always been one of the most progressive legislators taking on pressing issues of equality for all Virginians. For his decades of leadership to ensure human rights, environmental protection, education, mental health,?and sensible gun reform, he was bestowed SPARC Distinguished Service Award.

Held at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Vienna, the well-attended morning event brought together several hundred hungry supporters, including SPARC clients, Supervisor Walter Alcorn, Supervisor Dalia Palchik, sponsors, ?and board members. The family friendly breakfast featured a silent auction, games, and food.?Funds raised will support SPARC’s cost-effective, unique program serving young adults who have aged out of the special education support provided by the K-12 system and are not eligible for other community-based programs that serve individuals with severe disabilities.

Started nearly 20 years ago, SPARC hosts centers that operate five days a week at various county locations in Fairfax and Arlington with staff-led programming based on a curriculum rooted in therapeutic recreation principles that consist of continued education/leisure learning, skill building, exercise, excursions, cooking, music, art, lectures, discussion groups, and more. SPARC’s clients require support with daily living activities and without SPARC they are often neglected and forgotten. SPARC’s annual cost per participant is $9,000.?If the SPARC participant instead attended a Medicaid provider, the taxpayer cost would average $39,000 per year. Funds raised at the June 10 breakfast helps defray the costs of running these centers.

Sponsors included Blue Jenkins, The Washington Group, AARP VA, Coldwell Banker (Dave & JoAnne Adams Group), America Services Group, Jim & Ellen Dyke, SpeedPro Northern Virginia, McLean?Business Forum, Giant Foods, and Exterior Medics.?Learn more about SPARC at https://sparcsolutions.org/.