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Special People Helping Others, Inc (SpPHO) creates meaningful opportunities for individuals with developmental disabilities to build self-esteem and social awareness by helping others. SpPHO believes that individuals with developmental disabilities have tremendous potential to be a positive force in our communities and can achieve remarkable benefits in personal, social and educational growth through their efforts.
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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 witnessed 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, social and educational growth by helping others, while simultaneously demonstrating their ability to be a positive force in our communities.
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