Three teens with disabilities want to give back by doing community service during the pandemic. Sophie Stern, Esteban Barriga, and Laura Estrich are the three selfless teens who wanted to help their people by giving services free of charge.
Many young people with special needs have been doing volunteer work amid the health crisis. They work in community gardens and help care for elderly relatives since schools and other places have shut down. The ARC of Madison Cortland clients sewed thousands of face masks and donated them to healthcare providers and government agencies.
The dance teacher
An Arizona teen with Down Syndrome, Stern, works hard as a dance teacher. She knows that she has to do ten hours of community service as required in her health class. She said that her grandmother, who is a dance teacher, inspired her to do the same.
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After the community service in high school, she assisted her grandmother in her studio. Each day, she performed and choreographed a dance, and her mom posted them on Facebook. Stern's mom, Amy, noted how essential the daily dance was to them. It brought some structure to the day because her daughter got to exercise.
She explained that her teenage daughter spends about half an hour trying out many songs. Stern knew people were looking forward to her dance. It was a great way to communicate with others, as people would make song requests.
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Stern decided to teach classes on Zoom in April. Amy said that three times a week, her daughter gets control of the dance floor for half an hour. One of the 22 students who signed up to take her free class was the actor from the hit TV series "Born This Way," Sean McElwee. Amy explains that people of all ages and dance level experiences come from around the country to watch her daughter dance.
The fundraiser
A young Massachusetts man with autism, Esteban Barriga, stepped up to help the needy when the social distancing was put into place. He saw that low-income households with physical disabilities could not wait in line at food banks.
He started collecting local market grocery gift cards and mailed them to families with disabled members at home. His goal was $5,000, but he ended up raising more than $6,500. He and his mom, Maribel Rueda, manages the Facebook fundraising page that has received photos and videos from recipients of the gift cards.
Posted by Maribel Rueda on Sunday, May 3, 2020
See also: Children with Disabilities Are Greatly Affected by The Coronavirus Pandemic
The Non-profit intern
A recent Oregon high school graduate, Laura Estrich, is helping with outreach and advertising. She works as an intern for the new Disability Equity Center, helping out people. Apart from collecting resources around disability justice, she also creates educational PowerPoints and essays.
Allison Hobgood, the center's co-founder, said that from the start, Estrich has been a key champion and stakeholder. She explained that the young adult is amazing because has been working as an unpaid intern.
Posted by Disability Equity Center on Thursday, April 16, 2020
