June 5, 2025 • 14 mins
In this episode of the ARISE - Exceptional Family Resources podcast, CEO Bruce Drake sits down with Max Smith, the Community Inclusion Senior Supervisor at ARISE. They discuss Max’s unique path—from his early days in theater and education to his current role advocating for individuals with disabilities. Max shares personal stories, including his experiences growing up in Chittenango, his work with his cousin who has spina bifida, and his time teaching theater in Syracuse schools. Listeners will gain insight into how Max’s diverse background fuels his passion for inclusion and community engagement.
Tune in to hear how Max’s blend of creativity and compassion makes a meaningful impact in the lives of those he serves.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
This is the Arise Exceptional Family Resources
Podcast with your host, CEO,Bruce Drake.
SPEAKER_02 (00:14):
Hi, everyone.
I'm Bruce Drake, the CEO atArise and EFR, and I am your
host today for the Arise EFRPodcast.
I am thrilled to have joining ustoday our Community Inclusion
Senior Supervisor, Max Smith.
Something you should all knowbefore we get too far into this
is that Max and I are almostbirthday buddies.
(00:34):
My birthday is one day beforehis, and we will both be
celebrating this weekend.
So welcome, Max, and happybirthday.
Thank you.
Happy birthday to you.
I appreciate it.
Sure.
Thank you.
Max, you have such a greatbackstory before you even joined
EFR.
Why don't you tell us a littlebit about yourself and who you
are and what your experienceswere before you came here.
SPEAKER_01 (00:54):
All right.
Loaded question.
So I grew up in Chittenango,about half an hour from
Syracuse.
So I am local to the area.
I have been lucky enough to walka lot of different paths in this
life.
And work many different jobs indifferent areas.
So I've met a lot of differentpeople.
(01:15):
And, you know, I've done retail,I've done restaurants, I've done
work with people withdisabilities.
So I feel lucky enough to havebrought in my horizons to meet a
lot of amazing people, if thatmakes sense.
SPEAKER_02 (01:27):
Sure, sure.
Now, am I correct that you havesome background in being on
stage as well?
SPEAKER_01 (01:32):
Yep, yep.
I was a definite theater kidgrowing up.
So I did a lot of stage work inhigh school.
In high school, I also wasrecognized at my graduation for
my work in the exceptionallearners classroom.
So working with people of allabilities has been a passion of
mine since I was very young.
SPEAKER_02 (01:49):
Okay.
So where did you catch the bugto work with people with
disabilities?
How did that come?
Did you have a personalinteraction or?
SPEAKER_01 (01:56):
Yeah.
Cousin of mine has spina bifida.
She's in a wheelchair.
So I have always been helpingher with accessibility since I
was very young.
And I also worked at OCL rightout of high school as a dsp so i
was your cousin older than youyounger than you she's about 10
years older than me
SPEAKER_02 (02:16):
okay and you said you went to work at ocl as a dsp
SPEAKER_01 (02:20):
yeah so it's her dsp so how was that it was cool it
was really nice i was fresh outof high school so still a kid
but it was a really it was areally good job and she and i
are still very close to this dayso whose idea was that Her
parents, her family.
I come from a very tight-knitfamily unit, so my aunt was just
like, hey, you want to make someextra money and bring Ashley to
(02:42):
some shows sometimes?
And I was like, heck yeah, I do.
So it worked out pretty well.
And how long were you a DSP for?
Not super long.
Probably less than a year, Iwould say.
And
SPEAKER_02 (02:53):
where did
SPEAKER_01 (02:54):
you
SPEAKER_02 (02:54):
go from there?
SPEAKER_01 (02:55):
I went to the Red House Art Center in downtown
Syracuse.
I was working in partnershipwith the Syracuse City School
District.
So I was writing theatercurriculum and bouncing school
to school in the Syracuse CitySchool District, teaching
theater curriculum to kids andtying it back into Common Core
curriculum, which is a prettyunique job.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (03:13):
Yeah.
Yeah.
And then you've done some stagework yourself, right?
SPEAKER_01 (03:18):
Yeah.
Yep.
I was on stage.
I was in a touring production ofJames and the Giant Peach.
which was pretty cool.
So let's talk about, so what isit?
SPEAKER_02 (03:26):
What is it?
What is it?
What is it?
What is it?
SPEAKER_01 (03:30):
Touring production is a show that goes city to city
and puts on, puts on the show.
So I was touring.
with the production of James andthe Giant Peach for about a
year.
SPEAKER_02 (03:40):
And any cities, which cities
SPEAKER_01 (03:42):
would you hit?
It was all New York.
It wasn't, not that big time.
So it was all around New YorkState.
I think the furthest we went waslike the southern tier.
Do you get nervous being up onstage and performing?
I love it.
I love The Rush.
I have a dancing background, andI was in the church plays when I
was like three years old as thebaby Jesus.
(04:03):
So I've been ready for thespotlight since day one.
SPEAKER_02 (04:06):
The best baby Jesus I've ever seen.
Yeah, man.
Well done.
SPEAKER_01 (04:10):
Thank you.
SPEAKER_02 (04:11):
And what was your role in James and the Giant
Peach?
SPEAKER_01 (04:13):
I was the centipede, the grumpy smoking guy.
So just yelling at everybody thewhole time.
SPEAKER_02 (04:18):
Did you get to dance or sing in that role?
SPEAKER_01 (04:19):
Yeah.
Yes, I did.
It was a musical.
SPEAKER_02 (04:22):
That's great.
Yeah.
So you have an interesting rolehere.
here at Arise and ExceptionalFamily Resources as the
Community Inclusion SeniorSupervisor.
Why don't you talk a little bitabout the programs that you
oversee?
SPEAKER_01 (04:34):
Sure.
Yeah, I have been at Arise andEFR for about two years at this
point.
And I've been lucky enough whereEFR and Arise have let me kind
of build my own strengths andbring my own background and my
own partnerships into the agencyso that we can provide the
people that we support with asmany opportunities as they need.
(04:54):
So I oversee many a program.
Some of the main ones, a lot ofthe ones that people ask about,
we do have our Fantastic Fridaysevery Friday at the Redeemer
Church in Liverpool.
Those are different activitieseach week, as well as we have
our bingo.
We have a Syracuse bingo, aFulton bingo, and we're actually
introducing a Madison Countybingo and Chittenango this
month, as well as we have abowling group every Thursday at
(05:17):
Flamingo Bowl, and we have theSewell Branch Library gaming
group every Wednesday.
So those are just some of ourrecurring events where I also
oversee see FSS FriendsConnection.
So
SPEAKER_02 (05:29):
FSS is a OPWDD program, Family Support
Services.
And so...
Which of the programs for theFSS program do you oversee?
SPEAKER_01 (05:38):
I oversee Friends Connection and I also oversee
Community Night Out, which isthe Friday night dance and Kids
Night Out.
SPEAKER_02 (05:44):
So what's Friends Connection?
SPEAKER_01 (05:46):
So Friends Connection is a service, as you
said, it's family supportedservices.
So it's people who are age 18,live at home with a family
member and have that OPWDDeligibility.
We just hang out at differentplaces in the community each
month.
We have, we actually have bumpedit up.
Now we're offering three eventsper month.
So things like like bowling orbaking or sporting events.
SPEAKER_02 (06:09):
Who decides what you're going to do?
SPEAKER_01 (06:11):
So myself and my amazing team decide, but we
normally will ask theparticipants what they want to
do and then schedule it aroundtheir desires.
For example, they love minigolfing.
Who doesn't love mini golfing?
Who doesn't love mini golfing?
So next month we're going to goto Big Don's in Cicero just
because they love mini golfingso much.
SPEAKER_02 (06:30):
Absolutely.
And then what were the other FSSprograms?
SPEAKER_01 (06:32):
So we have the Friday Night Dance, which is the
the third Friday of each monthat Salt Space right next door.
And that is, again, for peopleaged 18 and up.
And it's always a place for usto come and dance and eat some
snacks and have fun as acommunity.
And then another facet ofcommunity night out would be
kids night out, which is forages six to 12.
(06:53):
And they do things like tie dyeor molding crafts on the first
week of each month.
SPEAKER_02 (06:59):
Max, you've really done an outstanding job in your
role.
I know when I came to EFR sixyears ago, years ago, one of my
goals was to get EFR to provide12 group activities a year
because we weren't.
And now it sounds like we'reproviding 15 or 20 group
activities a month.
SPEAKER_01 (07:19):
Yeah, I'm proud to say we have an offering for
almost every day, which wasdefinitely one of my goals.
Something else that I'm actuallyvery proud of was I wanted one
of my goals for myself in thisrole was to have an education
series, some way where ourindividuals could learn and kind
of have an extra support inday-to-day activities.
(07:40):
So right now in the educationseries, we have a money matters
class where people can learnabout budgeting and financing
and spending versus saving.
We also have a health andwellness class where people can
learn about very basic thingslike hygiene and relationships
and comfortable boundaries, butthen also does build into sexual
(08:00):
health depending on theindividual's comfort level.
And we also are offering fitnessclasses almost every day of the
week at this point inpartnership with elevate fitness
into it.
So we have a lot of educationalofferings going on right now
that I'm very proud of.
SPEAKER_02 (08:14):
So I know we're able to offer those because of
relationships that you've builtin the community, right?
Yes, sir.
Those are things that we'venever done before, and we
honestly never really thought ofdoing them before until you came
on board.
Can you talk a little bit abouthow you establish relationships
in the community and kind ofconvince people to help us with
these things?
SPEAKER_01 (08:33):
Sure.
I like to think that I surroundmyself with people who are
like-minded So people who dowant to see growth in the
community and see the value inthe work that we do.
And these are people that comefrom all different walks of my
life.
So for example, our health andwellness teacher, she actually
teaches curriculum specificallyfor folks with disabilities
(08:53):
through Planned Parenthood.
And she's one of my best friendsfrom high school.
So that just happened to workout in my favor.
Whereas with the Red House ArtCenter, you know, we have people
that are participating inBroadway level shows, because
that was where I worked before.
So
SPEAKER_02 (09:07):
what was your role at the Red House Arts Center?
SPEAKER_01 (09:10):
I believe the title was Building Lead or Teaching
Fellow.
The main goal was communityimpact and growth.
SPEAKER_02 (09:18):
Okay.
So you run into these people,but somehow you keep them in
your life and convince them tohelp us.
How about the credit union?
How did that kind of come about?
SPEAKER_01 (09:28):
Oh, AmeriQ came through another member of my
team, Erica, who is just simplyphenomenal.
I believe that they are afamily.
SPEAKER_02 (09:36):
Erica doesn't get any royalties for this, does
SPEAKER_01 (09:38):
she?
Erica, I'm so sorry you're notgetting anything for this, but
maybe a nice coffee.
But, so Erica had a familyconnection, but we also are
partnering with the SydneyFederal Credit Union and I just
ran into their representativethrough a networking event at
the Women's Opportunity Center.
So just finding these sort ofevents and finding like-minded
(10:01):
people and creating that bondand growing together.
SPEAKER_02 (10:05):
That's great.
So, you know, you've done a lotof things that you should be
proud of.
I'm just wondering, you know, ifyou had to identify the thing
that you were proud of of youraccomplishments, either here at
EFR and Arise or even before,what would you say?
That's a big one.
SPEAKER_01 (10:21):
Well, answer as many times as you want.
Yeah, right.
I would say, I'll loop it backto what you were saying about
wanting to offer at least 12events a month.
It is very nice to see, youknow, I see some faces at every
single one of my events andthere are some that I only see
once every few months, but Iknow that it's impactful for
them.
It's making a difference to seethem and see the community and
(10:42):
it is vital for me Thank you.
(11:04):
a bingo once a month wherepeople will see a familiar face,
know that they're safe, and thatthey have a place to go where
they'll be celebrated.
SPEAKER_02 (11:11):
That's great.
That's great.
So you've accomplished a lot intwo short years.
What's next on the agenda?
Do you have some goals or someservices or supports that we
haven't been able to provide yetor we haven't had the
opportunity to do yet that youkind of have in the back of your
head that, boy, I'd love tofigure out a way to roll this
out to everybody?
SPEAKER_01 (11:30):
Yeah.
We actually have quite a fewthings coming down the pipeline
that I'm really looking forwardto at the end of the year,
Erica, give Erica another shoutout, worked out a kitchen
literacy project with the SaltCity Market where people will be
able to go to a real fullkitchen downtown and we'll
provide the food, we'll providethe teachers, we'll provide the
venue and just teach people withdisabilities how to cook a
(11:52):
home-cooked meal that's cheapand easy and doable.
And I know that a lot of peoplewant to live independently, so
that's a big one for them.
Also, Nick, who works at Ariseand EFR, we've been
collaborating with them to offeran ASL, an American Sign
Language course, for our DSPsand perhaps our individuals,
(12:13):
just to make communication thatmuch easier.
I've also been working withRadiant Abilities, Kathy
O'Connell, on a support datingand relationships because you
know with dating apps and socialmedia and all of that it's a
very dangerous place for peoplewho might be a little more
susceptible to fraudsters sogetting a course out there for
(12:35):
not only the individual on howto be safer in dating and
relationships but also for theDSP to know how to support
somebody who might be notengaging in safe activity online
so those are a few of thepartnerships and programs that
I'm really looking forward towithin the next few months.
SPEAKER_02 (12:53):
Those all sound very exciting.
So Max, if somebody is listeningto the podcast, and hopefully
there are many of you, what'sthe best way to get a hold of
you if they want to hear moreabout any of the great things
that you're doing?
SPEAKER_01 (13:04):
So we have a general recreation email.
That's kind of the easiest wayto reach our team.
That's recreation atcontactefr.org.
I can spell it out if you wantme to.
I
SPEAKER_02 (13:14):
think you're good.
SPEAKER_01 (13:15):
Or we have a general phone number.
It just goes to a voicemail, butthen one of us will call you
back as soon as we get it.
And that phone number is315-707-7752.
SPEAKER_02 (13:25):
Max, again, great job with everything you do.
We really appreciate everything.
Thank you for spending some timewith us this morning.
Thank you for everything, allthe services and supports that
you're delivering.
Ladies and gentlemen, that wasMax Smith, our Community
Inclusion Senior Supervisor.
Thank you all for joining us.
And we hope you join us the nexttime as well.
SPEAKER_00 (13:44):
Thank you.
This has been the AriseExceptional Family Resources
podcast with CEO Bruce Drake,recorded and produced at the
WCNY Public BroadcastingStudios.
For more information, visit ourwebsite at contactefr.org.
You can also follow us onFacebook.
Thank you for listening.
This is the Arise Exceptional Family Resources
Podcast with your host, CEO,Bruce Drake.
SPEAKER_02 (00:14):
Hi, everyone.
I'm Bruce Drake, the CEO atArise and EFR, and I am your
host today for the Arise EFRPodcast.
I am thrilled to have joining ustoday our Community Inclusion
Senior Supervisor, Max Smith.
Something you should all knowbefore we get too far into this
is that Max and I are almostbirthday buddies.
(00:34):
My birthday is one day beforehis, and we will both be
celebrating this weekend.
So welcome, Max, and happybirthday.
Thank you.
Happy birthday to you.
I appreciate it.
Sure.
Thank you.
Max, you have such a greatbackstory before you even joined
EFR.
Why don't you tell us a littlebit about yourself and who you
are and what your experienceswere before you came here.
SPEAKER_01 (00:54):
All right.
Loaded question.
So I grew up in Chittenango,about half an hour from
Syracuse.
So I am local to the area.
I have been lucky enough to walka lot of different paths in this
life.
And work many different jobs indifferent areas.
So I've met a lot of differentpeople.
(01:15):
And, you know, I've done retail,I've done restaurants, I've done
work with people withdisabilities.
So I feel lucky enough to havebrought in my horizons to meet a
lot of amazing people, if thatmakes sense.
SPEAKER_02 (01:27):
Sure, sure.
Now, am I correct that you havesome background in being on
stage as well?
SPEAKER_01 (01:32):
Yep, yep.
I was a definite theater kidgrowing up.
So I did a lot of stage work inhigh school.
In high school, I also wasrecognized at my graduation for
my work in the exceptionallearners classroom.
So working with people of allabilities has been a passion of
mine since I was very young.
SPEAKER_02 (01:49):
Okay.
So where did you catch the bugto work with people with
disabilities?
How did that come?
Did you have a personalinteraction or?
SPEAKER_01 (01:56):
Yeah.
Cousin of mine has spina bifida.
She's in a wheelchair.
So I have always been helpingher with accessibility since I
was very young.
And I also worked at OCL rightout of high school as a dsp so i
was your cousin older than youyounger than you she's about 10
years older than me
SPEAKER_02 (02:16):
okay and you said you went to work at ocl as a dsp
SPEAKER_01 (02:20):
yeah so it's her dsp so how was that it was cool it
was really nice i was fresh outof high school so still a kid
but it was a really it was areally good job and she and i
are still very close to this dayso whose idea was that Her
parents, her family.
I come from a very tight-knitfamily unit, so my aunt was just
like, hey, you want to make someextra money and bring Ashley to
(02:42):
some shows sometimes?
And I was like, heck yeah, I do.
So it worked out pretty well.
And how long were you a DSP for?
Not super long.
Probably less than a year, Iwould say.
And
SPEAKER_02 (02:53):
where did
SPEAKER_01 (02:54):
you
SPEAKER_02 (02:54):
go from there?
SPEAKER_01 (02:55):
I went to the Red House Art Center in downtown
Syracuse.
I was working in partnershipwith the Syracuse City School
District.
So I was writing theatercurriculum and bouncing school
to school in the Syracuse CitySchool District, teaching
theater curriculum to kids andtying it back into Common Core
curriculum, which is a prettyunique job.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (03:13):
Yeah.
Yeah.
And then you've done some stagework yourself, right?
SPEAKER_01 (03:18):
Yeah.
Yep.
I was on stage.
I was in a touring production ofJames and the Giant Peach.
which was pretty cool.
So let's talk about, so what isit?
SPEAKER_02 (03:26):
What is it?
What is it?
What is it?
What is it?
SPEAKER_01 (03:30):
Touring production is a show that goes city to city
and puts on, puts on the show.
So I was touring.
with the production of James andthe Giant Peach for about a
year.
SPEAKER_02 (03:40):
And any cities, which cities
SPEAKER_01 (03:42):
would you hit?
It was all New York.
It wasn't, not that big time.
So it was all around New YorkState.
I think the furthest we went waslike the southern tier.
Do you get nervous being up onstage and performing?
I love it.
I love The Rush.
I have a dancing background, andI was in the church plays when I
was like three years old as thebaby Jesus.
(04:03):
So I've been ready for thespotlight since day one.
SPEAKER_02 (04:06):
The best baby Jesus I've ever seen.
Yeah, man.
Well done.
SPEAKER_01 (04:10):
Thank you.
SPEAKER_02 (04:11):
And what was your role in James and the Giant
Peach?
SPEAKER_01 (04:13):
I was the centipede, the grumpy smoking guy.
So just yelling at everybody thewhole time.
SPEAKER_02 (04:18):
Did you get to dance or sing in that role?
SPEAKER_01 (04:19):
Yeah.
Yes, I did.
It was a musical.
SPEAKER_02 (04:22):
That's great.
Yeah.
So you have an interesting rolehere.
here at Arise and ExceptionalFamily Resources as the
Community Inclusion SeniorSupervisor.
Why don't you talk a little bitabout the programs that you
oversee?
SPEAKER_01 (04:34):
Sure.
Yeah, I have been at Arise andEFR for about two years at this
point.
And I've been lucky enough whereEFR and Arise have let me kind
of build my own strengths andbring my own background and my
own partnerships into the agencyso that we can provide the
people that we support with asmany opportunities as they need.
(04:54):
So I oversee many a program.
Some of the main ones, a lot ofthe ones that people ask about,
we do have our Fantastic Fridaysevery Friday at the Redeemer
Church in Liverpool.
Those are different activitieseach week, as well as we have
our bingo.
We have a Syracuse bingo, aFulton bingo, and we're actually
introducing a Madison Countybingo and Chittenango this
month, as well as we have abowling group every Thursday at
(05:17):
Flamingo Bowl, and we have theSewell Branch Library gaming
group every Wednesday.
So those are just some of ourrecurring events where I also
oversee see FSS FriendsConnection.
So
SPEAKER_02 (05:29):
FSS is a OPWDD program, Family Support
Services.
And so...
Which of the programs for theFSS program do you oversee?
SPEAKER_01 (05:38):
I oversee Friends Connection and I also oversee
Community Night Out, which isthe Friday night dance and Kids
Night Out.
SPEAKER_02 (05:44):
So what's Friends Connection?
SPEAKER_01 (05:46):
So Friends Connection is a service, as you
said, it's family supportedservices.
So it's people who are age 18,live at home with a family
member and have that OPWDDeligibility.
We just hang out at differentplaces in the community each
month.
We have, we actually have bumpedit up.
Now we're offering three eventsper month.
So things like like bowling orbaking or sporting events.
SPEAKER_02 (06:09):
Who decides what you're going to do?
SPEAKER_01 (06:11):
So myself and my amazing team decide, but we
normally will ask theparticipants what they want to
do and then schedule it aroundtheir desires.
For example, they love minigolfing.
Who doesn't love mini golfing?
Who doesn't love mini golfing?
So next month we're going to goto Big Don's in Cicero just
because they love mini golfingso much.
SPEAKER_02 (06:30):
Absolutely.
And then what were the other FSSprograms?
SPEAKER_01 (06:32):
So we have the Friday Night Dance, which is the
the third Friday of each monthat Salt Space right next door.
And that is, again, for peopleaged 18 and up.
And it's always a place for usto come and dance and eat some
snacks and have fun as acommunity.
And then another facet ofcommunity night out would be
kids night out, which is forages six to 12.
(06:53):
And they do things like tie dyeor molding crafts on the first
week of each month.
SPEAKER_02 (06:59):
Max, you've really done an outstanding job in your
role.
I know when I came to EFR sixyears ago, years ago, one of my
goals was to get EFR to provide12 group activities a year
because we weren't.
And now it sounds like we'reproviding 15 or 20 group
activities a month.
SPEAKER_01 (07:19):
Yeah, I'm proud to say we have an offering for
almost every day, which wasdefinitely one of my goals.
Something else that I'm actuallyvery proud of was I wanted one
of my goals for myself in thisrole was to have an education
series, some way where ourindividuals could learn and kind
of have an extra support inday-to-day activities.
(07:40):
So right now in the educationseries, we have a money matters
class where people can learnabout budgeting and financing
and spending versus saving.
We also have a health andwellness class where people can
learn about very basic thingslike hygiene and relationships
and comfortable boundaries, butthen also does build into sexual
(08:00):
health depending on theindividual's comfort level.
And we also are offering fitnessclasses almost every day of the
week at this point inpartnership with elevate fitness
into it.
So we have a lot of educationalofferings going on right now
that I'm very proud of.
SPEAKER_02 (08:14):
So I know we're able to offer those because of
relationships that you've builtin the community, right?
Yes, sir.
Those are things that we'venever done before, and we
honestly never really thought ofdoing them before until you came
on board.
Can you talk a little bit abouthow you establish relationships
in the community and kind ofconvince people to help us with
these things?
SPEAKER_01 (08:33):
Sure.
I like to think that I surroundmyself with people who are
like-minded So people who dowant to see growth in the
community and see the value inthe work that we do.
And these are people that comefrom all different walks of my
life.
So for example, our health andwellness teacher, she actually
teaches curriculum specificallyfor folks with disabilities
(08:53):
through Planned Parenthood.
And she's one of my best friendsfrom high school.
So that just happened to workout in my favor.
Whereas with the Red House ArtCenter, you know, we have people
that are participating inBroadway level shows, because
that was where I worked before.
So
SPEAKER_02 (09:07):
what was your role at the Red House Arts Center?
SPEAKER_01 (09:10):
I believe the title was Building Lead or Teaching
Fellow.
The main goal was communityimpact and growth.
SPEAKER_02 (09:18):
Okay.
So you run into these people,but somehow you keep them in
your life and convince them tohelp us.
How about the credit union?
How did that kind of come about?
SPEAKER_01 (09:28):
Oh, AmeriQ came through another member of my
team, Erica, who is just simplyphenomenal.
I believe that they are afamily.
SPEAKER_02 (09:36):
Erica doesn't get any royalties for this, does
SPEAKER_01 (09:38):
she?
Erica, I'm so sorry you're notgetting anything for this, but
maybe a nice coffee.
But, so Erica had a familyconnection, but we also are
partnering with the SydneyFederal Credit Union and I just
ran into their representativethrough a networking event at
the Women's Opportunity Center.
So just finding these sort ofevents and finding like-minded
(10:01):
people and creating that bondand growing together.
SPEAKER_02 (10:05):
That's great.
So, you know, you've done a lotof things that you should be
proud of.
I'm just wondering, you know, ifyou had to identify the thing
that you were proud of of youraccomplishments, either here at
EFR and Arise or even before,what would you say?
That's a big one.
SPEAKER_01 (10:21):
Well, answer as many times as you want.
Yeah, right.
I would say, I'll loop it backto what you were saying about
wanting to offer at least 12events a month.
It is very nice to see, youknow, I see some faces at every
single one of my events andthere are some that I only see
once every few months, but Iknow that it's impactful for
them.
It's making a difference to seethem and see the community and
(10:42):
it is vital for me Thank you.
(11:04):
a bingo once a month wherepeople will see a familiar face,
know that they're safe, and thatthey have a place to go where
they'll be celebrated.
SPEAKER_02 (11:11):
That's great.
That's great.
So you've accomplished a lot intwo short years.
What's next on the agenda?
Do you have some goals or someservices or supports that we
haven't been able to provide yetor we haven't had the
opportunity to do yet that youkind of have in the back of your
head that, boy, I'd love tofigure out a way to roll this
out to everybody?
SPEAKER_01 (11:30):
Yeah.
We actually have quite a fewthings coming down the pipeline
that I'm really looking forwardto at the end of the year,
Erica, give Erica another shoutout, worked out a kitchen
literacy project with the SaltCity Market where people will be
able to go to a real fullkitchen downtown and we'll
provide the food, we'll providethe teachers, we'll provide the
venue and just teach people withdisabilities how to cook a
(11:52):
home-cooked meal that's cheapand easy and doable.
And I know that a lot of peoplewant to live independently, so
that's a big one for them.
Also, Nick, who works at Ariseand EFR, we've been
collaborating with them to offeran ASL, an American Sign
Language course, for our DSPsand perhaps our individuals,
(12:13):
just to make communication thatmuch easier.
I've also been working withRadiant Abilities, Kathy
O'Connell, on a support datingand relationships because you
know with dating apps and socialmedia and all of that it's a
very dangerous place for peoplewho might be a little more
susceptible to fraudsters sogetting a course out there for
(12:35):
not only the individual on howto be safer in dating and
relationships but also for theDSP to know how to support
somebody who might be notengaging in safe activity online
so those are a few of thepartnerships and programs that
I'm really looking forward towithin the next few months.
SPEAKER_02 (12:53):
Those all sound very exciting.
So Max, if somebody is listeningto the podcast, and hopefully
there are many of you, what'sthe best way to get a hold of
you if they want to hear moreabout any of the great things
that you're doing?
SPEAKER_01 (13:04):
So we have a general recreation email.
That's kind of the easiest wayto reach our team.
That's recreation atcontactefr.org.
I can spell it out if you wantme to.
I
SPEAKER_02 (13:14):
think you're good.
SPEAKER_01 (13:15):
Or we have a general phone number.
It just goes to a voicemail, butthen one of us will call you
back as soon as we get it.
And that phone number is315-707-7752.
SPEAKER_02 (13:25):
Max, again, great job with everything you do.
We really appreciate everything.
Thank you for spending some timewith us this morning.
Thank you for everything, allthe services and supports that
you're delivering.
Ladies and gentlemen, that wasMax Smith, our Community
Inclusion Senior Supervisor.
Thank you all for joining us.
And we hope you join us the nexttime as well.
SPEAKER_00 (13:44):
Thank you.
This has been the AriseExceptional Family Resources
podcast with CEO Bruce Drake,recorded and produced at the
WCNY Public BroadcastingStudios.
For more information, visit ourwebsite at contactefr.org.
You can also follow us onFacebook.
Thank you for listening.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!