We are excited to be joined by Wendi Hoffer, founder of Enriching Escapes. As the parents of a special needs child, Wendi and her husband realized how important enjoyable family experiences together were to them as a family. But she also realized how challenging it was for families to justify the costs of a vacation or the time away from therapy. Wendi is here to share her experience and show others how one person really can make a difference.

What are the circumstances that led you to create your organization, Enriching Escapes.

My husband and I learned early on in our special needs parenting journey that making time to get away from the grueling day-to-day and having enjoyable experiences as a family was a must for both us as parents and for our special needs son. It allowed for us all to reset and avoid the burnout that is so common among special needs families. We would often times feel a sense of guilt about taking a vacation if it meant our son would miss important therapies though and we imagined that other special needs families felt this as well. We also realized that the financial obligations that come with raising a child with special needs meant that for many families, a vacation simply wasn’t an option. We wanted to address those two main obstacles to vacationing for families like ours, so I founded Enriching Escapes. Our mission is to improve the quality of life, mental health, and development of special needs children and their families by making guilt-free opportunities to relax and recharge possible. To this end, we organize group vacations including pediatric therapists who provide crucial therapy to the children throughout the vacation and also provide general support to the families as an extra set of hands. We also assist with financial aspects of the vacations in order to alleviate the burden on families already strained by other costs associated with raising a child with special needs. We’ve found that doing the vacations in a group format has provided further benefits to the families, as it allows them to make connections and share experiences with others who can relate.

Have you faced any obstacles in pursuing Enriching Escapes’ mission? If so, how did you overcome them?

Yes, when we first started, it was difficult to explain our mission in a way that resonated with people outside the special needs community. It was even difficult to get buy in from people from within the special needs world, as it may have seemed “too good to be true”. We had to get one trip under our belts with families that we were already connected to who already understood our vision in order to get the proof of concept we needed in the form of pictures and videos. Once we had those images and stories from our first trip that we could share, it made it easier for people to get behind our mission, both from a supportive and a participation standpoint. More recently, as with many other organizations, COVID produced a variety of obstacles. Of course we could no longer carry out our mission in the traditional way of organizing vacations. We’ve attempted to stay connected the families we serve through virtual events, but as time as gone on and people have become burnout with Zoom events, that has been more and more challenging. We are anxious for our world to get back to normal so that we can fulfill our mission and support families in need in the most enriching way we know how – through our Escapes.

What organizational structure have you needed to put into place to make Enriching Escapes a reality? What resources, financial and otherwise, have you needed to secure in order to make sure that it is something that is sustainable?

We’ve had to come up with financial support in the form of donations. Most have come organically from people we know and who have believed in the mission from day one. As time has gone and our organization and mission have become known beyond our immediate circle, donations have begun to come from sources beyond those we were already connected to. However, our fundraising activities as well as our grant seeking efforts that had only just begun were substantially impacted by COVID, as many funds were redirected to organizations focused on COVID relief. In addition to financial support, we’ve also had to come up with a network of volunteer therapists who volunteer their time on our vacations.

Was advocacy and driving change always something that was a key part of who you are?

Advocacy became a key part of who I am once my son, Hudson, was born 6 and a half years ago. He was born very early and suffered an event that caused damage to various parts of his brain and that ultimately led to a diagnosis of cerebral palsy. It became clear to me as I navigated this new world as a special needs mom that were many needs that weren’t being met for special needs families and I knew I wanted to make a difference in a meaningful way. There might have been more practical areas that I could have focused my energy on, but seeing the smiles on the faces of the families we support gives me such joy and I know that although a vacation might not seem like the biggest need for a special needs family, the feedback that I receive from families we have supported makes me realize how impactful these experiences are to a family well beyond the actual vacation, however intangible those impacts may be.

Many people may want to advocate but may not know where to start, or they may think that one person cannot cause real change. Do you have any advice for people who may want to advocate but do not know where to begin?

I would say one person is never just one person and can always make an impact. You don’t always have to reinvent the wheel to make an impact. There are many organizations out there doing a variety of things for those in need and they’re always looking for volunteers or support in other ways. I think that’s a great place to start because joining forces with an already established organization is a great way to feel like you’re part of something bigger. And if you don’t find an organization that addresses an issue that you believe needs attention, be the beginning of that something bigger by identifying that issue – I promise that if you see a need that isn’t being met, others will too and they will join you to do big things to make an impact.