July 20, 2018 | Greenwich Free Press
The second annual “Abilis Has Talent Show” is being held at 6:00pm on Friday, July 20 at the First Presbyterian Church.
The show showcases Abilis program participants with special needs and their creative abilities. Nineteen performers will show off their skills singing, playing the piano and performing in skits.
This event is a lot of fun and helps shine a light on families with special needs and showcases that their families are just like others – with members that like to play, perform and put on a good show for their friends and families.
July 2, 2018 | Greenwich Sentinel
President and CEO of Abilis, Dennis W. Perry retired at the end of June, and during his three years at the helm, Perry has invigorated the organization’s fiscal health, culminating in a broader, greater outreach of services to people living with special needs.
Abilis is a non-profit organization supporting more than 700 individuals in Fairfield County with developmental disabilities from birth, throughout their lives, and has endured a reputation for providing individualized, high-quality care over the past 65 years.
November 26, 2017 | Greenwich Time
GREENWICH — After six months of work, Abilis has reopened its renovated and remodeled Abilis Gardens and Gifts. The Glenville facility is central to Abilis’ mission to help its clients, individuals with developmental disabilities, to lead full lives. The gift shop and the greenhouse provide employment opportunities and training.
“It’s all about getting people into the community,” said Dennis Perry, Abilis’ CEO and president. “We want people to have as big and as meaningful a life as they can and what this does is, for people who want a job and want to work in retail, this is their opportunity. I will cycle 12 people through here who will develop a retail expertise that they otherwise wouldn’t have. ”The greenhouse was created in 1992, and in 2012, a garage was transformed by a group of Abilis families who wanted to give their kids and others served by the non-profit agency the chance to develop job experience. “Today, we are combining them into one retail operation,” Perry said.
A plaque inside the gift shop pays tribute to the Hilibrand and Levy families, who Perry said have been longtime supporters and believers in the importance of training Abilis’ clients so they can secure jobs in the community. Perry also noted the contributions of the Eustis family, the Franck family, the Woodruff family and the Ritch family for their decades of work in making Abilis what it is. Other opportunities inside Abilis include the café, property maintenance, a shredding business and a cleaning crew. Perry said they all provide valuable experience for clients and a chance to prepare for jobs outside the agency. “Not everybody is appropriate to go straight into the workforce,” Perry said. “Sometimes, they need to make the mistakes with us first. This gives them the opportunity to go do that.”
November 16, 2017 | Greenwich Daily Voice
The greenhouse and gift shop have recently undergone a total update and are ready for the holiday shopping season. “We have just updated and remodeled our greenhouse and gift shop to better serve the community and our clients,” said Dennis Perry, CEO and president of Abilis. “The greenhouse and gift shop are used to provide job skills and experience to individuals with special needs. Many of the items in Abilis Gardens & Gifts are made by the employees of the shop and are beautiful, one-of-a-kind handmade items that include bath products, candles, jewelry and more. Also available are fresh cut flowers, seasonal plants and micro greens to purchase.”
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