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The HSC Health Care System
Life Enrichment Awards Program (LEAP)
Life Enrichment Award
The Life Enrichment Awards Program (LEAP) provides grants to support youth and young adults with disabilities and chronic illnesses in the Washington, D.C. area as they transition to adulthood. Grants are made through The HSC Pediatric Center’s network of community partners who are working to ensure young adults have the resources and services they need to make a successful transition to the next step in their lives.
LEAP Funds
Funds may be used for a variety of purposes, such as:
- Business clothing
- Career exploration or related courses
- College tuition
- Computers and equipment
- Other transition needs
If you are a young person in need of support, there are services and organizations that may be able to help.
LEAP Awards
Each year, HSC holds a reception and benefit to recognize the many young people who receive LEAP grants.
Not a partner? We welcome information on organizations that assist youth and young people with disabilities and their families. If you have something to share, please send us an email.
LEAP Partners
Many community organizations partner with us to carry out the LEAP program. Our partners make it possible for more youth and young adults with disabilities to transition to their next step, whether it is more school, training, or a job.
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Educates parents, youth, and the community about the laws governing public education, specifically for children with special needs. AJE seeks to empower youth and parents to be effective advocates and youth to self-advocate to ensure that children receive an appropriate education.
Advocates for Justice and Education website
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Maximizes the potential of children while supporting families and individuals with disabilities so that they may thrive in the community. A full-service organization with multiple programs that together provide an integrated and innovative learning environment for children of all ages and abilities.
Visit the Arc of Loudon website
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Provides service and education locally and on a state level, as well as, information and referral, special needs trust programs, self-advocacy empowerment opportunities, and special events. Distributes weekly updates for families, professionals and individuals living in the cities and counties of Alexandria, Arlington and Fairfax.
Visit the Arc of Northern Virginia website
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Membership organization that offers a lifetime of support, understanding, and opportunities for people with developmental disabilities and their families by providing support through a variety of programs and services that match each person’s or family’s individual needs.
Visit the Arc of Prince George’s County website
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The Co-op fills a unique community need in DC by working with teachers, school leaders, and across charter schools to improve educational services for students with disabilities.
DC Special Education Cooperative Website
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Promotes an independent living philosophy and equal access for all persons regardless of disability. Utilizes consumer control and peer-to-peer relationships to empower people with physical, mental, cognitive and sensory disabilities to direct their own lives.
Visit the ENDependence Center of Northern Virginia, Inc. website
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Prepares informed and skilled leaders through innovative teaching and learning practices that enhance and enrich theory, policy and practice by engaging in scholarly inquiry and research; promote equity, diversity and inclusion reflective of changing societies; create public and private partnerships; and advocate continuous self-examination and critical analysis.
Visit the George Washington University Graduate School of Education & Human Development website
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A non-sectarian, non-public special education day school with an integrated approach to learning that includes educational programs and therapeutic services for more than 200 students, ages four through 21, whose disabilities include developmental delays, speech/language deficits, learning disabilities, health impairment, and autism/PDD.
Visite the Ivymount School, Inc. website
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High school program utilizing a multi-sensory, developmental and language-intensive curriculum tailored to students in grades nine through 12, with language and learning disabilities and/or high-functioning autism.
Vist the Katherine Thomas School Treatment and Learning Centers website
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Empowers a diverse population of underserved youth to achieve a successful transition to adulthood, through multi-cultural, comprehensive and innovative programs that address social, academic and career needs.
Visit the Latin American Youth Center website
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Established by the Marriott Foundation to develop and support mutually beneficial job placements to meet the workforce needs of local employers and the vocational goals of young people with disabilities.
Marriott Foundation – Bridges from School to Work Website
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Montgomery College is a multi-campus institution that serves nearly 60,000 students a year, through both credit and noncredit programs, in more than 100 areas of study. The Graduate Transition Program is custom-tailored to help developmentally disabled students transition to greater independent living through developmentally appropriate educational employment training and life-skill services.
Visit the Montgomery College – Graduate Transition Program website
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Serves hundreds of individuals with developmental differences, their families and involved professionals through therapeutic, recreational, social and respite care programs for teens and adults, as well as information about community resources for families.
Visit the Potomac Community Resources, Inc. website
Not a partner? We welcome information on organizations that assist youth and young people with disabilities and their families. If you have something to share, please send us an email.