Academy Celebrates Third Anniversary

On the occasion of our 3rd Anniversary, the Academy wishes to extend our deepest gratitude to all of those who made this dream possible. Our strong community is a result of unwavering support from our Ambassadors, dedicated staff, donors and volunteers, employment partners, charitable foundations, stakeholders, Clubhouse International and most of all, Academy members and their families. We also want to acknowledge the vital role of Linda McKinnon and her team at Central Florida Behavioral Health Network. They have partnered with us since our inception! Together we have built a strong foundation to carry us into the future.

Five years of planning and designing went into creating the Academy. Founding staff and Board of Directors, along with our amazing Ambassadors, collaborated on every detail. Yet, on that day in 2017, there was still one more thing that we had to do: we took a leap of faith.

Since that day, our courage and conviction has paid off beyond our expectations. With an active membership of nearly 100, we have helped 23 members become gainfully employed. We achieved a 3-year accreditation with Clubhouse International. Our Teams-Culinary, Business, Arts, and Wellness- are vibrant and always innovating.

We celebrate this day with a bit of community service; a neighborhood clean-up as well as the start of a three-week food drive benefiting Church of the Palms food pantry. But lest we be all work no play; we are throwing ourselves a picnic followed by lawn games. We are a productive workplace for sure, but we are so much more. We are a true community.