Special Offer - 24 HOURS ONLY!

Have you heard? The Pause Annual Gala is on Saturday, September 7th! Final tickets close on SATURDAY, August 17th.

We are offering our CAN DO members a discounted price of $75/ticket for the next 24 HOURS ONLY!

Can you keep a secret? We hope not!

It's July - and that means planning for the annual Holiday Shoppe has begun! This annual event is the most anticipated event of the year for families!

The Pause Holiday Shoppe has become a place where families find success in building annual traditions. Last year, it was all smiles watching kids wait for the event to start - their noses pressed up against the glass entry doors. Kids of all abilities showed up ready for fun. Children with limited vocabularies - some using only their eyes and electronic systems to communicate, kids in wheelchairs with medical equipment in tow and we can’t forget all of our service dog furry friends who showed up ready too!

Partnering with like minded community organizations is what it’s all about! Pause is so grateful to our friends at the Dan Cox Legacy Fund and we want to tell you all about the great work they are doing!

The Dan Cox Legacy Fund was created to financially support the organizations that were near and dear to Dan’s heart. Dan was raised in a big family and tight knit community and he learned the importance of giving back. Dan was an integral part of the Catholic Youth Community, where it was evident that second to be a family man, Dan was called to coach—and coach he did! Starting as a 24-year-old with his father, Bill Cox, for the St. Ann Bruins football team. This began a 35-year coaching career as he transitioned over to Badin High School in the late 90’s.

We can share about Pause all day long… it’s probably one of our favorite things! When you wholeheartedly believe in the mission of an organization, it becomes second nature. BUT when a volunteer shares about their Pause experience to spread the word about Pause - JACKPOT!

It wasn’t what our Executive Director was planning to hear when she walked her then 10 year old into the ER one evening after a suspected migraine didn’t go away with medicine. Eight brain surgeries and a host of diagnoses later, that now 20 year old is attending The Ohio State University to become a trauma nurse. He was a “Pause” kid.

Building connections through shared experiences is the building block of meaningful relationships (aka a Pause program value 👀). Think about it, the more you share experiences with your friends and family, the deeper the connections you make with them.

Are you still feeling the joy of A Party for Pause? We are! Your presence and support at the event made it a truly unforgettable evening in support of Pause! From the AMAZING tunes of the Naked Karate Girls to the laughter and conversations shared over drinks and delicious food, every moment of the evening was full of joy and friendship. It was heartwarming to meet new friends and reconnect with old friends all while coming together to have a great night celebrating Pause! 

Volunteers are the backbone of our program and Pause simply would not exist without their ongoing support. The students from Mother Teresa Catholic Elementary School (MTCES) are no exception! Several junior high students from MTCES have been so committed to Pause that they’ve served with Unlimited and Family Fun events to fulfill their service obligations for the past several YEARS! 

Do you love Pause, good food and LIVE music? We’ve got the perfect event for you! Hamilton's Urban Backyard presents: A Party for Pause!

Family bonding and connection, lasting memories, predictability and stability, promotion of family unity, and increased resilience and hopefulness - these are all things annual traditions create and why we love being able to provide these opportunities throughout the year for Pause families.

On paper, these events are planned thoughtfully with fun activity stations, visits from special guests, take home resources and a plethora of volunteer names on our rosters. Yet, in person the experience is something our staff has often described as “magical”.

Dreaming big, thinking differently and making the impossible happen - that’s what Pause is all about. Oftentimes, special needs families have filtered through many different programs before they find Pause. They’ve been told her elementary aged child can’t attend special needs camp because they aren’t potty trained. They’ve been asked not to come back to Sunday school because their child causes “disruptions.” They’ve been called to pick their child up at every program they’ve ever tried because the staff/volunteers don’t have the resources and tools to properly care for them. We wish these stories weren’t true, but they are stories we hear just about weekly.

If there’s one word we throw around at Pause quite frequently, it’s growth. It has shown up in the amount of families we serve and the growing number of volunteers partnering with Pause. We’ve seen incredible growth of our donors and community partners who support and sustain programming. Even recently, we have started planning around the expansion of Pause programs as we look to launch in different counties. One area of growth we don’t talk about much is the growth of our Pause Board of Directors. Currently we have 7 Board members (and growing!) - all coming from different backgrounds, experiences and expertise. They all hold one thing in common - their love, passion and dedication to the mission of Pause.

When you volunteer for an organization, you may have some expectations for your experience. Maybe you’re looking for service hours for your school organization, professional development for your future career, or maybe you’re recently retired looking for a way to give back. No matter your expectation, what many people don’t anticipate is how the experience will affect them personally.

As we reflect on 2023, we take a moment to reflect on the incredible journey we've embarked on together to support Pause. With deep gratitude and heartfelt appreciation, we extend our warmest thanks to you for believing in our mission to empower and uplift children with disabilities.

Your generosity has been the driving force behind our ability to make a real difference in the lives of our kiddos. Through your support, we've been able to provide tailored programs, specialized resources, and an intentional environment that fosters rest, support, connection and fun.

Every year in December, our team comes together for an intentional strategic week to talk through the different programs we provide. While the conversations vary from year to year, the consistent theme remains - strategic conversations to move Pause forward all while having fun!

We wish you all a safe holiday season and a happy New Year! Love, Pause

During the interview process, Pause asks the question, “What’s the difference between an event and an experience?” It’s an important question for us because it’s the root of how we design each event we host and helps candidates understand our culture and what we are looking for.

We want parents, kids and volunteers to walk in and feel our extravagant welcome. We want to know the names of everyone attending and intentionally use them to make people feel special, welcomed and included. We want kids to experience our events by using all of their senses to explore and discover the different activities curated just for them. Since our programming year started on July 1, 2023 Pause has hosted 7 Parent’s Day/Night Out Events, Thrive Night Events and Family Fun events.

When you sign up to be a Pause Buddy, you aren’t doing us a favor. You are telling a kiddo, “I see you. I want to spend time with you. I will show up for you.” Our buddies are the reason Pause is able to serve a wide variety of kids!

At events, kids with assigned buddies join in on the fun with a group of peers and their built-in best bud. If they need a break to get some energy out, no problem! Buddies love to visit the Backyard just as much as our kids - it’s our indoor gross motor room equipped with swings, a trampoline, zip line and more! When kids need a quiet space, buddies will join them for a break in one of our Reflections rooms - more commonly known as our “Ocean” and “Nature” rooms. These rooms are relaxing spaces featuring under-the-sea and outdoor nature theming and are calming to little bodies and brains by their design and are available to kids any time they choose!

You hear a lot about what we do and why, but you don’t always get to see the team that is behind the scenes making it all happen! Everyone has a title and a job description, but what do the staff really do at Pause? This month, let’s find out more about our Family Strategy team!

The exponential growth Pause has had over the last two years has been unexpected and has really taken our team by surprise. A typical business or nonprofit growth in its first two years is about 20% (FORA Financial). In our first two years with official nonprofit status, our enrollment growth for new families has reached 200% with 101 families enrolling last fiscal year. Fun fact - 20 new children were enrolled in Pause in one week this month!