Providence Center Inc

Description

Founded in 1961, the Center opened its doors to seven children, all of whom were developmentally disabled. The ribbon cutting to open this first Center was hosted by then Governor J. Millard Tawes. The original site was located at what is now the corner of Spa and Hilltop Roads in Annapolis. The founding citizens of the Center included: Barbara Augustine, Betty Sadowski, Lorraine Bothe, Peggy and Thomas Baldwin, Dorothy Burke, and Katherine Wilcox. From the early sixties through the eighties, the Center grew by leaps and bounds under the long-term direction of the Executive Director, Pat Hudson.In its infancy, the Center provided the only services in the County for children with developmental disabilities. In 1971, it opened the first specifically-designed building for those services at Shore Acres Road. The population swelled to slightly more than one hundred participants. However, in 1975, with the passage of the equal right to education law, the youngsters were admitted to the special education classes of the public school system. At that time, the Center's mission shifted towards providing services to adults with developmental disabilities.The Center continued to expand opportunities to an ever-increasing adult population. In the ‘70s and ‘80s it established a Craft Program, Woodworking and Pottery Studios, Sheltered Workshops, and a Horticulture Program that continues to provide wetland grasses for the restoration of the Chesapeake shoreline. At the peak of its craft programs in the ‘80s, the Center operated three retail outlets that were dubbed "Earthtones". Today, one store located in Pasadena offers the sale of the Center's handicrafts.

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