The College of Adaptive Arts, located on the West Valley College campus in Saratoga, is hosting its annual fundraiser later this month to give more adults with special needs the opportunity to take college courses. (Credit: DeAnna Pursai)
For many special-needs adults, education ends after high school or college. The College of Adaptive Arts (CAA) gives these adults education and social opportunities at all ages.
The college, located on West Valley College’s (WVC) campus at 14000 Fruitvale Ave., is hosting its annual fundraiser on Sept. 18, 2-4 p.m. Money raised at the event will go directly to the Saratoga-based program.
“More intellectually engaging opportunities need to be out there for adults of all ages and abilities, so that they can nourish their brains and become the best versions of themselves,” DeAnna Pursai, executive director of CAA, said. “We’re hoping to show that other colleges can have this type of model of education on their college campus.”
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo and Santa Clara County Supervisor Susan Ellenburg will give keynote speeches on how the CAA impacted their lives and the community. There will also be a live auction, performances and student-led tours of the campus.
Curtis Kitaji, who is a student ambassador, and Michael Oduma, who is the WVC basketball announcer, will emcee the event.
This marks the first in-person fundraising event for the college since the start of the pandemic, CAA spokesperson Liz Rosinski said.
This is also the first year that the CAA has been on WVC’s campus. The nonprofit was leasing a spot in San Jose until that building was sold during the pandemic. As the CAA looked for a new space, WVC was contemplating the future of an empty portable classroom on campus.
The CAA was founded in 2009 by Pursai and Dr. Pamela Linsay after they watched their family members with special needs get aged out of the public school system and experience loneliness.
It started with a small class of 15 students and has now grown to more than 160. The CAA offers courses in podcasting, digital media studies, golf and cheerleading.
“There’s all these classes that I think the general population might not associate people with developmental disabilities and special needs as wanting to participate in,” Rosinski said. “It’s an amazing program, (and) all the students are just inspiring. They want to learn, and they’re so excited.”
Pursai said the organization is likely the first of its kind because it encourages students to keep coming back to campus. She hopes the organization expands to college campuses across the country.
“It’s such a unique program and there’s nothing really like College of Adaptive Arts, not only in the Bay Area but in the entire state,” Rosinski said. “There’s other programs that might serve adults with special needs. They’re finite programs, so at some point they’re over. So the thing about CAA that’s really different is you can just keep going back.”
Tickets to the fundraiser are $100 at https://www.collegeofadaptivearts.org/events.
Originally published at Hannah Kanik