The BOLTWOOD Project
Community Site Descriptions Spring 2023
Program: The Fun Club / Pathlight
Day/Time: Wednesdays, 6:00-8:00 PM
Fun Club is filled with laughter and high energy! The Participants in this group have varying levels of mental and/or physical disabilities and come together from the Amherst area. The UMass participants in this group require the ability to interact with all types of people of varying ages and be able to ‘let loose’ and fully enjoy having a good time! This group participates in an array of activities including craft nights, game nights, and outings around the Amherst community.
STUDENT SUPERVISOR: Santiago Abril Zegarra, Shannon Gray, India Wade
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Program: Los Amigos / Pathlight
Day/Time: Tuesdays, 6:30 - 8:30 PM
Los Amigos is a high energy, life-loving group. We spend time with adults with varying abilities around the area and play games and do crafts together. Whether we’re painting bird houses, eating snacks or wrapping up with bingo, we always create lasting friendships and memories and always accept new friends! They all eagerly anticipate their weekly meetings with BOLTWOOD! Participants should be ready to laugh and have fun.
STUDENT SUPERVISORS: Julia Cerrutti
Program: Good'ell Times
Day/Time: Wednesdays, 6:00-8:00 PM
The Goodell Times site meets with individuals of varying cognitive/physical abilities and ages who live in group homes in the Amherst/Pioneer Valley area. UMass participants for this group should be high energy, responsible, and have the ability to have fun and joke around with our participants! This site meets Wednesdays in the Goodell building on campus.
STUDENT SUPERVISOR: Kriti Dhiman
Program: ServiceNet Group
Day/Time: Mondays, 10:30 - 12:30 PM
ServiceNet is a day center for individuals who have suffered from traumatic brain injuries. It is a coed program that varies in ages but most of the participants are older individuals. Each week we spend an hour with the community participants whether that is doing a cooking activity, playing UNO, doing karaoke or bowling (and much more)! We travel to ServiceNet in Chicopee which is included in the 2 hour time slot for our site. This is a great site for someone who wants to work with older individuals and learn about how their injury has changed their life.
STUDENT SUPERVISORS: Greta Calkin
Program: Berkshire Hills Music Academy
Day/Time: Tuesday evenings: 6:30 - 8:00 PM
The Berkshire Hills Music Academy is a post-secondary school for college-age individuals with developmental disabilities, who have either a wonderful talent or strong passion for music – or both! As UMass BOLTWOOD participants, we visit the school once a week to spend time and have fun with the students. Some examples of the activities that we do at the Academy include, arts and crafts, cooking, games, dance parties, and many more! The friendships that are built at Berkshire Hills Music Academy are truly unique and will last forever.
STUDENT SUPERVISORS: Eliza Valente & Marie Canty
Program: Riverside Industries, Inc.
Day/Time: Fridays, 1:00 - 3:00 PM
Riverside Industries is a community organization whose mission is to provide services to adults with cognitive and developmental disabilities that will help them with life skill development, habilitation, and employment options. Riverside Industries is located in Easthampton. Boltwood’s involvement with the organization includes making meaningful connections with Riverside Industries participants through various activities and games. Both UMass and Riverside Industries participants have so much fun when we meet!
STUDENT SUPERVISORS: Laura Dunderdale & Rebecca Ganley
Program: Amherst Middle School – Best Buddies
Day/Time: Thursdays, 12:00 PM
Amherst Middle School Best Buddies works to supplement an existing Best Buddies program composed of both middle school students with disabilities and those without. The program runs as a club and provides an opportunity for students of varying abilities to make connections and form friendships. We engage in a variety of activities including arts and crafts, scavenger hunts, soccer, kickball, and much more.
STUDENT SUPERVISOR: Devon Glennon
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Program: Project Teammate/ Pathlight
Day/Time: Fridays, 2:00 - 3:30 PM
Project Teammate is a small group of individuals of all ages with different intellectual and developmental disabilities. Our weekly activities help cultivate a safe space where students can make meaningful connections through a range of activities. Some of which include: arts and crafts, making snacks, playing board games, jokes and more! We are a fairly new site and our existing group is looking forward to having new participants help continue our growth this semester. This site is the perfect way to end a stressful week. Looking forward to an amazing semester filled with lots of laughs and even more memories!
STUDENT SUPERVISOR: Ben Karol
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Program: The Scouts
Day/Time: Wednesdays, 7:00 - 8:30 PM
The Scouts is a co-ed program, ages 11 and up based on traditional Scout programs that involves the execution of living skill activities such as cooking, personal care, menu planning and much more. The group meets from 7 pm to 8:30 pm on Tuesdays at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Northampton (2 doors down from the Smith bus stop). Participants plan activities, participate in a variety of games, and assist in Scout programs.
STUDENT SUPERVISOR: Rose Dearborn & Taylor Morrow
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Program: Florence Homes
Day/Time: Tuesdays, 5:00 - 6:00 PM
Boltwood’s advocacy branch is seeking to take the organization to the next level through hands-on advocacy work! If you’re interested in creating positive change in the community and fighting for disability rights this is the place for you. We will now also be partnering with Florence Homes, a group home for adults with varying abilities. We will meet with Florence Homes biweekly and do fun activities, and conduct disability advocacy work on off weeks.
STUDENT SUPERVISOR: Camryn Hughes & Phoebe Lasic-Ellis
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Program: Holyoke Connections After School Program
Day/Time #1: Tuesdays, 4:30-5:30 PM
Day/Time #2: Wednesdays, 3:30-4:30 PM
The Holyoke After School Program is a wonderful opportunity to work with children in 2nd through 5th grade. These sites involve planning enrichment activities that allow students to learn through different methods as they enjoy engaging projects. Some of these activities include sports, music, culinary, as well as arts & crafts.
STUDENT SUPERVISOR #1: Emily Schultz
STUDENT SUPERVISOR #2: Alison Irwin