In early 2007, high school student Zachary Peskin founded Special People Helping Others, Inc (SpPHO) ¯ an organization designed to create meaningful opportunities for individuals with developmental disabilities to build self-esteem and social awareness by helping others.
Early on, Zachary observed his family and various practitioners interacting with his older brother, Adam, who is autistic. Zachary was keenly aware of Adam's eagerness to help friends, family and the community in various ways and the satisfaction and enthusiasm that Adam displayed at the completion of each activity. Helping and supporting others gave him joy ¯ from making pancakes for the family (an activity he learned at school) to helping his teachers prepare and clean up the classroom. Zachary also observed this eagerness to help others while conducting the Special Needs Tennis Program which he founded for children and adolescents with disabilities. Over the last few years, Zachary noted that the highlight of each participant's experience focused not necessarily on playing tennis, but on helping to pick up the tennis balls at the end of each game. Similar to the empowerment that all individuals feel when helping others, those with developmental disabilities experience these same feelings of worth and contribution. SpPHO is based on these observations and the larger premise that individuals with developmental disabilities can achieve exceptional benefits in personal growth by helping others, while simultaneously demonstrating their ability to be a positive force in our communities.
Zachary's efforts with SpPHO were recently recognized by WMTR-AM Radio (Cedar Knolls, NJ) with the Kids Who Rock Award. In addition to his commitment to SpPHO, Zachary is a USTA-ranked junior tennis player and a member of the Millburn varsity tennis team. He is the founder of the Special Needs Tennis Program for adolescents and children with disabilities, member of the Millburn High School Peer Leaders (Millburn, NJ) and an editor of The Miller, the Millburn High School newspaper. Zachary is an avid reader, particularly in the area of economics, and has conducted professor-supervised research related to the modeling of economic and social impacts of international exchange rate dynamics.
Well, for me it's kind of second nature. I mean growing up with that and over the years I've gotten more comfortable with him. So if people say, oh like ... what is it like to live with a brother who has autism, I just think of it just like living with any other brother. Now in terms of maybe how...(Full transcript available to logged in subscribers.).
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Zachary Peskin States People With Disabilities Gain Satisfaction From Giving Back To Others
Zachary Peskin States Organization Sought To Include People With a Wide Range of Disabilities
Zachary Peskin Discusses Challenge of Trying To Recruit Employees and Board Members Simultaneously
Zachary Peskin Discusses Organization's Reliance on Volunteers and Discusses Development of Company Website
Zachary Peskin States Importance of Thinking Through Website Content Before Doing Development
Zachary Peskin Discusses How Special People Helping Others Came Up With SpPHO Domain Name
Zachary Peskin Shares Special Moments He Has Had In Working With People With Special Needs
