Dear Friends of ReadyStart,

I am so excited to announce that as of Monday, April 11, ReadyStart® has merged with LaunchAbility®. ReadyStart and LaunchAbility provide services dedicated to helping people with disabilities acquire the skills they need to be ready for success in school and in life. ReadyStart will operate as a division of LaunchAbility. It is an honor to be part of this incredible combined team.

Looking at current trends in program funding, we truly feel we are entering an environment where bigger is better. Both agencies share a commitment to the delivery of the highest quality ECI services. The merger gives all of our employees the advantages that come with greater scale: better training, highly qualified experts in key positions, and efficiencies in back office and administrative functions. More importantly, we will be able to direct a higher percentage of total dollars to direct service which will allow us ultimately to become even more efficient and effective in meeting the needs of the babies and toddlers that we collectively serve.

Both LaunchAbility and ReadyStart are recognized for the quality of their operations and service delivery. That common heritage will be enhanced with this merger by bringing together the support strengths of both agencies. For example, ReadyStart has exceptional expertise in billing while LaunchAbility has extraordinary strength in fundraising. The Board of ReadyStart was particularly struck by the opportunity to quickly bring to ReadyStart’s ECI families the broader continuum of services developed over the years by LaunchAbility – especially the hope of employment for people with cognitive disabilities offered by our Supported Employment and Academy programs.

We look forward to continuing to grow our ECI program through this merger and continue to expand the reach and impact of all our programs for people with developmental disabilities. If you have any questions please call me at 972-991-6777 ext. 7112.

With great anticipation,

Cathy Packard