Where Generosity Creates Opportunity
At Springbrook, meaningful experiences and opportunities help the people we support live fuller, more connected lives. The Springbrook Fund is the Springbrook Foundation’s unrestricted fund that makes these moments possible by supporting programs and initiatives that enhance quality of life and create opportunities to learn, grow, and participate in the community. Gifts to the Springbrook Fund allow the Foundation to respond to emerging needs and invest in experiences that promote connection, personal growth, and community engagement—enriching the daily lives of the individuals we serve.
Click on any of the programs to the right to learn more about the life-changing opportunities the Springbrook fund supports.
Join Us in Building Possibility
Springbrook’s impact is profound and growing. With your partnership, people with I/DD can pursue opportunity, resilience, and independence at every stage of life. Together, we can ensure that no one is left without support and everyone has the chance to thrive.
Funding Priorities
Wellness
Expanding access, expanding hope
For more than a decade, Springbrook has led the way in providing coordinated, person-centered care for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD).
We know that when healthcare is consistent, compassionate, and designed to meet people where they are, lives are changed.
Since opening the Springbrook Wellness Clinic in 2019, Springbrook has partnered with Bassett Healthcare to deliver coordinated primary care through trusted providers and integrated health records. Building on the success of our school-based health center—which has reduced hospitalizations and emergency room visits—this work expands a proven model of care.
“Springbrook’s school-based healthcare has been amazing for our family. Before my son started going there, he couldn’t walk into a doctor’s office—he would start crying in the parking lot. Now he stops by just to check in and say hello. Even if he’s sick at home, they welcome us in. It’s been a complete turnaround.”
– Amanda Fox, mother of a Springbrook Schools student
Looking to the future
Springbrook is planning to expand the current Wellness Clinic to allow more children, adults, and families to receive high-quality care in a setting designed for people with I/DD, while also serving the broader community.
Expand access to specialized primary care across three counties.
Reduce unnecessary emergency department visits.
Decrease missed appointments by improving coordination and proximity
Provide access for Springbrook staff and community members.
This expansion is an investment in health, stability, and opportunity.
Together, we can expand access. Together, we can expand hope.
Kids Unlimited Preschool
Shaping young minds for future success
Learning to Play, Playing to Learn at Kids Unlimited Preschool
Kids Unlimited Preschool is Otsego County’s only integrated preschool, welcoming children of all abilities. Our child-centered, inclusive program combines early childhood and special education expertise to foster academic readiness, social-emotional growth, and compassion. With support from occupational, physical, and speech therapists, every child thrives through play, exploration, and creative learning. Your support helps ensure all children have a strong foundation for success in school and in life.
Impact at a glance
Kids Unlimited Preschool provides a critical early education resource in a rural community where access to inclusive, high-quality preschool programming is limited. The cost to operate the program is approximately $2 million annually, and even after tuition and grant support, there remains a $300,000 funding gap each year.
54 Total Enrollment Spots
20% tuition discount available to Springbrook Staff
85% (46 students) are children with developmental disabilities referred by their school district.
Your support in action
Philanthropic support is essential to sustaining this program—ensuring that children of all abilities can learn side by side, receive individualized support, and build the social and academic skills that set the stage for lifelong success.
The HELP Committee
Support when it matters most
When unexpected hardship strikes, the HELP Committee becomes a lifeline.
This Foundation-funded, volunteer-run program provides emergency financial assistance to individuals supported by Springbrook, helping cover urgent needs such as utilities, car repairs, clothing, and other essentials that protect stability and dignity.
For individuals living with disabilities, even a modest financial setback can quickly become overwhelming. The HELP Committee exists for those moments: stepping in to help someone keep the lights on, get to work, or stay warm through the winter. Each grant represents more than financial relief. It is a reassurance that someone cares and that help is within reach.
“Thank you very much for the Christmas check “gift”. I bought for myself a very cool dragon keychain, some pokemon cards…I also preordered a movie. Thank you very much.”
– Britni Irons, HELP Committee Recipient
A growing need we cannot ignore
Over the past several years, Springbrook has significantly increased its commitment to the HELP Committee, raising more funds, approving more grants, and supporting more individuals than ever before. Yet despite these efforts, the need continues to outpace available resources.
Still, many requests must be partially funded, or cannot be met at all.
Applications increased from 149 to 268 in just three years.
Funds awarded grew from $14,000 to more than $37,000.
239 people supported through the HELP Committee in 2024-2025.
Your support in action
With rising costs and growing financial strain, the HELP Committee remains an essential safety net but one stretched thin. Additional support would allow Springbrook to say “yes” more often and provide peace of mind to individuals navigating moments of deep uncertainty.
Springbrook Scholars
Investing in people who care
Springbrook’s employees are the foundation of everything we do.
They are the educators, caregivers, clinicians, and mentors who make independence possible and dignity a daily reality for the people we support. Investing in their growth is not optional, it is essential to delivering the highest quality care. The Springbrook Scholars Program exists to ensure that our employees have the opportunity to grow, because when staff are supported, everyone benefits.
Since 2024, nearly $100,000 has been invested in 24 dedicated employees, helping them advance their education in critical fields such as special education, nursing, therapy disciplines, behavior analysis, and human services. These are not abstract credentials, they translate directly into better care, stronger relationships, and improved outcomes for the people Springbrook supports.
“When we invest in our employees’ education, we invest in better care for every person we serve.”
– Kim Johnson, Director of Foundation
A program with lasting impact
Through Springbrook Scholars, employees partner with supervisors and department leaders to create individualized education plans aligned with Springbrook’s mission and service needs. Participants pursue approved associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees at accredited institutions—building expertise that strengthens Springbrook today and for years to come.
Fields of study include special education, nursing, occupational and physical therapy, speech therapy, behavior analysis, and leadership.
The result is a more skilled, confident, and stable workforce. Employees are better equipped to meet complex needs with compassion, professionalism, and innovation.
2023-2024: Nine participants and $26,380 invested
2024-2025: 15 participants and $65,427 invested
24 employees supported since 2024
Your support in action
Supporting Springbrook Scholars is a powerful investment with ripple effects far beyond the classroom. Donor dollars help retain talented professionals, strengthen services, and ensure that individuals with disabilities receive care informed by the latest knowledge and best practices.
Special Olympics
Where Confidence takes the Field
Springbrook’s Special Olympics program empowers athletes with intellectual and developmental disabilities to discover their strength through sport.
For Springbrook athletes, Special Olympics is about far more than sports. It is about being seen, being celebrated, and being part of something bigger than oneself. It is the moment an athlete pulls on a jersey and realizes they belong to a team. The cheer from the sidelines. The pride of finishing a race, making a basket, or scoring a goal—sometimes for the very first time.
Springbrook’s Special Olympics Program creates a space where confidence is built, and friendships flourish. Athletes of all ages and abilities train and compete year-round in basketball, soccer, track and field, and floorball. With patient coaching and unwavering encouragement, athletes are supported not just to compete, but to believe in themselves.
From local tournaments to statewide and national competitions, athletes proudly represent Springbrook while gaining skills that extend far beyond sports.
Impact at a Glance
Participation in Springbrook’s Special Olympics program continues to grow because the impact is undeniable.
Behind every number is a story: an athlete who found their voice, a teammate who made their first friend, a family who watched their loved one shine in ways they never imagined.
167
ATHLETES (2025)
up from 138 just
two years prior
8-10
Teams
From across NYS at the
Annual Basketball Tournament
$240
yearly cost
approximate yearly cost per athlete

