Listen Up... Social Club is Coming!

Social Club Forum Recap

On Thursday September 26th, Barrier-Free participants, families, counselors, and friends gathered at the Westminster Community Center to discuss and collaborate about the future of Social Club - while enjoying some ice cream!

Together we brainstormed a long list of potential social club outings. 

Here's what was shared:

• Bowling
• Adventure Park USA
• Laser Tag
• Dinner and a Show (Lancaster Dinner Theater, Way Off Broadway)
• Timeline Arcade
• Spinners (Frederick)
• Hickory Falls
• New York City
• Field of Screams
• Board Game Night
• Paint/Craft Night
• Dance Party
• Halloween Party
• Christmas at Hershey
• White Elephant Party
• Amusement Park
• Buffalo Wild Wings
• Restaurant Outings
• Bingo Nights (families invited)
• Advocacy/Social Skills Workshop
• Karaoke
• Escape Room
• Players Fun Zone
• Tom Mitchell's
• Snow Tubing

Over 35 in attendance at our Barrier-Free Ice Cream Social!

We also discussed some key points including - what we wanted to get out of Social Club, days, times, transportation, and cost. 

What We Want to Get Out of Social Club:

• Friendships
• New opportunities
• Feeling at ease
• Getting out of the house

Days/Times:

• Evenings
• Weekends
• Friday Nights
• Definitely not Monday or Wednesday due to Barrier-Free Rehearsals

Transportation:
**Unfortunately Barrier-Free is not a large service agency and does not own company vans/vehicles.  We brainstormed some transportation options.**

• Carpooling - organized via Facebook Events by parents
• Enterprise van rentals (if a social club was far distance and all-day)
• Individual transportation

Cost:

• Mix of more affordable Social Club events with occasional more expensive events
• $25 is a reasonable average cost for a Social Club
• $100 would be a higher-end cost for an event
• Possibility to provide Social Club partial or full scholarships through direct donations to Barrier-Free

Barrier-Free Staff getting set-up for Ice Cream Social!
Pictured left to right: Sandra Roll (Board Treasurer, Concessions Manager, mother to Britt & Lauren Burr),
​Laura Stall (Barrier-Free Content Creator, Board Secretary)

Next Steps:

​In the coming days, we will announce the outings, dates, and costs for Barrier-Free Social Clubs in October, November, and December.

By announcing in advance, it is our hope that Social Clubbers and families can plan accordingly for dates, costs, and transportation.

Announcements will be made via email, website, and social media.

Make sure you're on our email lists and social media to be the first to hear!

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Uploaded by Lauren Burr

​Lauren serves as Barrier-Free's Director of Operations.  As part of her position, she manages Barrier-Free email campaigns which she shares and preserves on Barrier-Free's blog.