MERCER COUNTY Special-needs pupils needed for trip to Boston

The trips are open to special-needs, learning-support or hearing-impaired pupils.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
HERMITAGE, Pa. -- Parents For Special Needs Children is looking for pupils from Mercer County to take a trip to Boston in May.
The volunteer organization has been sponsoring a weeklong educational and recreation trip for special-needs pupils for 37 years, said James Bigler, president. That includes learning-support and hearing-impaired pupils, he said.
Pupils between age 12 and 17 who are enrolled in a special-needs program at school are eligible to participate.
The trips, which have included visits to Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Florida, Chicago and Kentucky, are designed to benefit the participants in a number of ways.
Socializing
The destination is chosen based on its educational value, but it also gives the children an opportunity to socialize and travel.
Pupils are encouraged to make their own decisions about which activities they wish to join during the trips and they also learn how to participate in making decisions that affect the whole group, said Karen Gray of The Arc of Mercer County.
The trips take them out of school and away from parents and teachers, which helps nurture their independence and resourcefulness, Gray said.
Bigler said the goal each year is to arrange a weeklong trip for 25 to 30 pupils, who are selected by their individual schools.
For many, it will be their first time away without parents or teachers.
Last year's trip was to Harrisburg, and pupils from Mercer, Sharpsville, Sharon, Hermitage and West Middlesex schools participated, Bigler said.
Parents For Special Needs Children wants to expand that school base and has extended an invitation to all schools in Mercer County to send pupils on the Boston trip, he said.
Activities
The trip will include whale watching, a visit to Plymouth Plantation and a number of other historical activities, Bigler said.
There will be an informational and enrollment meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Delahunty School Library, 419 N. Hermitage Road, for those interested in making the trip.
The parents group pledges to pay 50 percent to 60 percent of the cost of each student's trip and holds a number of fund-raising activities during the year.
However, if a pupil doesn't have the money to cover the difference, their parents can cover the cost by participating in the group's fund-raising events.
Bigler said a rummage sale was held recently to start collecting money for the Boston trip.
There will be a bowl-a-thon in February and a Chinese auction on Palm Sunday, but the biggest source of money is the annual Shenango Valley Mall Gift Wrap Program, which runs from Thanksgiving to Christmas Eve, he said.
Volunteers set up a booth at the mall and, for a fee, will wrap presents for shoppers, he said.
The organization also gets financial gifts from a variety of individuals, businesses and social groups, Bigler said.
Parents for Special Needs Children is affiliated with The Arc of Mercer County's Youth Services Program.
The Arc of Mercer County was established in 1996 to offer individuals, corporations and foundations a way to support Mercer County Association for the Retarded Inc.