Get Involved
Get Involved
THRIVE started with a vision, but it was never meant to belong to just one person.
If this is going to become the kind of community we believe it can be, it will take people with different experiences, ideas, talents, interests, connections, and perspectives helping shape it along the way.
And there are so many ways to be part of that.
Maybe you're autistic or have an intellectual or developmental disability and have ideas about what you wish existed in your community.
Maybe you're a parent, family member, caregiver, or guardian who has spent years seeing the gaps—and you've also learned a whole lot along the way.
Maybe you're a community member who has some time to give.
Maybe you own a business, represent an organization, know how to bake, take amazing photographs, play an instrument, build things, teach a skill, organize events, lead an activity, or have a hobby you'd love to share.
Or maybe you simply believe people deserve opportunities to connect, participate, contribute, and belong.
There is room for you in this too.
The people participating in THRIVE should have a voice in what THRIVE becomes.
Tell us what you want to do.
Tell us what you're interested in.
Tell us what we're missing.
Suggest an activity. Bring us an idea. Help plan something. Volunteer. Share a talent. Teach us something. Join a project. Take on a leadership role if that's something you want to explore.
Or simply participate and tell us what you think afterward.
Nothing about us should be built without listening to you.
You know things that can't always be learned from a textbook, training, or professional title.
You know the phone calls you've made, the programs you've searched for, the barriers you've encountered, the things that have worked, the things that haven't, and the opportunities you wish had existed years ago.
That experience matters.
Families, caregivers, and guardians can help THRIVE by sharing ideas, identifying needs, volunteering when they're able, helping with activities or events, connecting us with resources or community partners, and simply telling us what would make participation more meaningful and accessible.
You don't have to take on another job.
Even sharing an idea can help us build something better.
You don't have to be an autism or IDD expert to have something valuable to contribute.
Maybe you can help set up tables before an event.
Maybe you love crafts.
Maybe you know photography.
Maybe you're great at games.
Maybe you can cook.
Maybe you're musical.
Maybe you enjoy gardening, technology, woodworking, sports, writing, theater, organizing, decorating, or teaching something you're passionate about.
Maybe you're just really good at making people feel welcome.
THRIVE hopes to build a community where people can contribute in ways that match their own interests, abilities, availability, and comfort level.
You don't have to do everything. You can simply bring what you have.
Some of the best opportunities happen when people stop working in separate little boxes and start asking, “What could we do together?”
THRIVE welcomes conversations with businesses, nonprofit organizations, schools, disability organizations, community groups, artists, educators, recreation providers, service organizations, and others interested in creating meaningful opportunities for autistic people and people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Partnership might mean helping host an activity, sharing expertise, providing a space, offering an accessible community experience, collaborating on an event, donating supplies, sponsoring an opportunity, volunteering, teaching a workshop, or bringing an idea to us that we haven't considered yet.
It doesn't have to begin with a huge commitment.
Sometimes it begins with a conversation.
Big ideas need more than enthusiasm to become real opportunities.
THRIVE is growing from the ground up, and funding is an important part of what we are working to build. Activities, events, supplies, equipment, technology, meeting spaces, transportation, accessibility needs, program materials, and other opportunities all come with real costs.
We don't want someone's ability to participate to depend on whether their family can afford every opportunity.
Financial contributions, sponsorships, donated supplies and materials, in-kind services, event support, and community partnerships can help turn the ideas you see throughout THRIVE into actual experiences.
Maybe a business wants to sponsor a dance or community event.
Maybe someone wants to provide supplies for SPARK or Creative Voices.
Maybe a restaurant or grocery store can help with Kitchen Creations.
Maybe a photographer, DJ, entertainer, instructor, or other professional can donate or discount their services.
Maybe someone simply wants to make a financial contribution and tell us, “Use this where it's needed most.”
Every contribution doesn't have to be huge to matter.
Sometimes a donated box of supplies makes an activity possible. Sometimes a sponsored event gives people an experience they otherwise wouldn't have had. Sometimes financial support gives us the flexibility to respond when an opportunity comes along that we couldn't have planned for.
And sometimes several people giving a little can make one pretty big idea possible.
THRIVE has a lot of possibilities. Community support will help us turn more of those possibilities into reality.
This may be one of the easiest ways to get involved.
Tell us what you know. Tell us what you love. Tell us what you'd like to share.
Maybe you know how to decorate cakes.
Repair bicycles.
Take photographs.
Garden.
Paint.
Play guitar.
Use technology.
Write stories.
Sew.
Work with animals.
Build things.
Dance.
Cook a family recipe.
Teach budgeting.
Create videos.
Fix something.
Make something.
Or do something we haven't even thought of yet.
You don't necessarily need to be a professional.
Sometimes the person who can introduce someone to a new interest is simply the person who loves it enough to share it.
And that one experience might open a door neither of you expected.
Maybe you've made it this far down the page thinking:
“I really like what THRIVE is trying to do, but I don't know what I could contribute.”
That's okay.
Reach out anyway.
Tell us a little about yourself, what interests you, or why THRIVE caught your attention.
Maybe there's an opportunity now.
Maybe there will be one later.
Maybe the conversation itself leads us to something neither of us had considered.
Getting involved doesn't have to start with a commitment. It can start with hello.
THRIVE isn't just about creating activities.
It's about creating opportunities.
Opportunities to make friends. To discover interests. To contribute. To lead. To learn. To teach. To volunteer. To create. To laugh. To participate in the community. To be recognized for what you bring to it.
And none of that happens because one organization has all the answers.
It happens when people bring what they have and we start building together.
Participants. Families. Caregivers. Guardians. Volunteers. Businesses. Organizations. Neighbors. Community members. Supporters.
There is a place for all of us in creating a community where people don't simply receive services.
They participate. They contribute. They belong.
THRIVE is still growing, and so is the support needed to build it.
Opportunities to volunteer, partner, contribute financially, sponsor activities, donate goods or services, share skills, and become involved will continue to be added as the program develops.
Contact, volunteer, partnership, sponsorship, and interest information will also be added as those processes are finalized.
For now, if THRIVE speaks to you, keep checking back.
We would love to have you be part of what comes next.