And just like that, June is over. So much has happened! Refresh took a trip to the CERT Conference in San Francisco, stressing the importance of having reasonable accommodations for people during emergencies and disasters. Meanwhile, it fills us with joy to extend a warm welcome to our new friends AWWA from Singapore, eager to delve deeper into our mission. Also, we find ourselves humbled by the unwavering support from local charitable organizations Special Children’s League chapters and Psi Delta Sigma, whose contributions are instrumental to our cause. Every act of generosity, be it a few dollars or regular monthly donations, has a profound impact on the lives we touch. As we revel in the spirit of independence, we wish everyone a delightful and safe Fourth of July celebration.

Last week Special Children’s League (SCL) Foothill, Whittier, and South Bay Committee along with Psi Delta Sigma, Inc. had the June meeting of their Coordinating Council Committee hosted by Momentum with a tour of our new location in Thousand Oaks.

These generous philanthropists dedicated their time and talents to raise a combined $158,333 for Momentum. This amount included $117,500 raised by SCL’s South Bay Committee which is their largest annual donation to Momentum. Representatives from SCL Whittier and SCL South Bay came to tour Momentum’s newest location. Because of your dedication and generosity, Momentum is a model of innovation for greater independence. We were happy to share the progress of construction at our new building in Thousand Oaks with these generous friends. More updates in the coming weeks and months!

Momentum continues to be an international ambassador as we extend and share our impact with the global community through the alignments we build and nurture. One of which is with the Asian Women’s Welfare Association (AWWA), a social agency based in Singapore that provides support and services across various life stages. In their quest to learn from Momentum’s innovative practices for both children and adults, representatives from AWWA visited Momentum from June 20 to 24. Their objective was to familiarize themselves with our programs and services.

“Being here at Momentum is like coming home, as this used to be my home for six months back in 2003 when I was still a USC OT student,” shared Mr. JR Karthikeyan, who is an Occupational Therapist by training and now serves as the CEO of AWWA. “I brought my colleagues here to observe and learn from Momentum, and adapt some of the child development and early intervention best practices to our own programs back in Singapore.”

The four-day visit by the AWWA group encompassed tours of our facilities in Chatsworth, where they gained insights into our day programs for adults, and our pediatric clinic in Long Beach. In addition to observations, the group also engaged in training sessions and round table discussions with Momentum teams from Leaps and Bounds and EHS.