WHO WE ARE
Where Challenges Become Opportunities
Inspire was founded as Orange County Cerebral Palsy Association, Inc. in 1950 primarily to provide rehabilitative and education services to children with cerebral palsy. Today, Inspire provides a wide array of rehabilitative, educational, and disability support services for individuals of all ages and abilities.
Currently, Inspire operates sites in Goshen, Newburgh, and Monroe in order to adequately serve children and adults from throughout Orange County. Inspire is a registered non-profit 501(c)3 organization and is also an affiliate of Cerebral Palsy Associations of New York State.
Our Mission
Inspire provides individualized and family-centered supports to promote lives full of opportunities for people with challenges.
Our History
From 1946 to 1949, members of the Junior League, Anne Sneed Deane and Susan Scott of Newburgh, realized the local need for services for children with cerebral palsy in Orange County.
Through their efforts and with the support of many community members, Orange County Cerebral Palsy Association was formed and incorporated in 1950, opening a treatment center in the Village of Goshen. Mrs. Deane was President of the Board of Directors for 30 years and worked tirelessly to ensure that appropriate services were available to those who needed them most. Miss Janet Lockwood was the first physical therapist employed at the Cerebral Palsy Center, as it was then called, and also served as the Executive Director until her retirement in 1982.
When the treatment center first opened in Goshen in 1950, nine children with cerebral palsy received services, but it soon became evident that there were children with other conditions who required similar services. Therefore, the incorporation papers were amended to include “people with various disabilities.”
In 1979, the first Preschool class was opened with 11 children enrolled. Since its inception in 1950, Orange County Cerebral Palsy Association has continued to expand its services to accommodate changing community needs. In 1998, Orange County Cerebral Palsy Association, Inc. adopted the name Inspire to represent the wide variety of services offered. The name Inspire is a tribute to the employees who are the strength of this organization and who inspire others every day through their work while inspiring the individuals served to reach their goals.
Currently, Inspire serves the Orange County community from sites in Goshen, Newburgh, and Monroe. In 2010, Inspire celebrated its 60th Anniversary, during which time a very special Memory Book was created which chronicles the history of Orange County Cerebral Palsy Association since its inception in 1950. To request a copy of this publication, please call Inspire’s Community Relations Department at (845) 614-5975 x101.
Community Partners
