On Wednesday, December 12th, the BRIDGES class from Cypress Bay High School held their annual holiday luncheon at Chili’s in Weston. In attendance were all the students, their instructors, interning teachers, and also invited guests including members of the ASDY-Tech and HDS Foundation teams. The luncheon was not only an activity to celebrate the holidays, but it also was an opportunity for the students to continue mastering the social and daily activity skills they have been working on all school year.
The luncheon began once the students and guests arrived at the restaurant. They were seated and quickly began ordering their meals. After everyone finished dining, the class did their Secret Santa gift exchange. They were each presented a gift, that had been purchased and wrapped by the Secret Santas, that came from AC Moore. Each gift also contained a card from the Secret Santas. After all gifts were distributed, it was a joy to hear the classmates sincerely thanking each other and enjoying their gifts.
After the gift exchange ended, Meagan Bouscher, Board Member of HDS Foundation distributed to each student and teacher a gift containing a holiday card and gift card. The gift cards can be used to purchase holiday gifts, to use during future field trips, or the students have the choice to use them at their own discretion.
AJ Silberman, Special Projects Liaison at HDS companies, was one of the guests at the event. She said, “There are so many daily life skills that most people take for granted, or consider simple, that can be a struggle for others. It was rewarding to witness the students mingling with one another, ordering and paying for their own meals, knowing that this activity is one of many that will help lead them towards independent living in the future.”
The HDS Foundation is honored to help support the BRIDGES class at Cypress Bay High School so that they can continue to experience activities such as this holiday luncheon. If you would like to donate to the HDS Foundation, visit www.HDSFoundation.org. You can also help the foundation by making your Amazon purchases through the Amazon Smile program.
Visit www.smile.amazon.com and assign the HDS Foundation as your selected charity. Whenever you purchase on Amazon, make sure to log in through the Amazon Smile page. This can be done all year long!
The HDS Foundation thoroughly enjoyed being part of the BRIDGES holiday luncheon, and they want to wish everyone a happy holiday and a prosperous New Year.
