A Program of the Katie Johnson Fellowship
A Program of the Katie Johnson Fellowship
Dylan making deliveries in April 2021
We are energized by the possibilities for a new program – Dylan and Friends’ Baking
It has begun experimentally in this time of Covid, 2021 when all usual day programs for our friends with severe disabilities have ceased. It was inspired by Dylan’s work as a volunteer years ago at Whidbey Island Ice Cream.
The owners would reward his hard work with a lot of ice cream bars, which he began to share. On the way home from work, he would offer ice cream to people he might see along the way: construction workers, bank tellers, grocery store clerks, UPS drivers, postal workers, friends, or just people he met along the way.
Dylan learned then that sweet things – like ice cream, or, indeed, baked goods and chocolates – make people happy. It is a way to share his heart with others, and it makes Dylan genuinely happy to make others happy.
Drawing from the ice cream experience, Dylan and friends, both with and without disabilities, are learning how to bake and to make Mo’s Chocolate Bark. Dylan leads the way in sharing these attempts with families and neighborhood friends. There is a very long way to go, but it just might become a functioning business!
Recently the fun of exploring Whidbey Island has been added to become Dylan and Friends Baking and Exploring.
Becoming independent and self-supporting in 2024
The Berkshire Project is a creative and performing arts based program, originally supported by The Katie Johnson Fellowship and began in the summer of 2021. The organization became independent in 2023, and now will be hosting their fourth summer retreat in July 2024. The Berkshire Project focuses on diversity, bringing people of all backgrounds and abilities together.
This organization continues to be supported by private donations. In the summer of 2024, children and their families will be joining the community. The Berkshire Project encourages lifelong friendships and relationships that are across the lifespan. Daily activities such as drumming, karaoke, sewing, pottery, swimming, tie dye, and many more are incorporated into each day. Accommodations and needs are adapted to each and every friend in The Berkshire Project community.
Lauren Marietti, Director
Theberkshireproject2020@gmail.com
To inquire about availability for the coming summer, please contact the camp directors. Kevin Heller: kevinwilliamheller@gmail.com and Karen Elliott: Elliott.kje@gmail.com.
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