Summer Snapshots from Strawberry Fields

There’s something about summer. Longer days, picnics, outdoor adventures, and time with others bring a particular kind of joy. At Strawberry Fields, summer provides our residents and staff with the opportunity to connect, celebrate, and savor the season. Special Olympics

From training days to tournament games, Special Olympics remains a meaningful part of life for many of our residents with intellectual disabilities. This spring and summer, athletes trained in their favorite sports, including track and field, tennis, and bowling. Two individuals proudly represented Strawberry Fields at the state bowling tournament in Lancaster. Woot woot!

The season concluded with the Special Olympics Pennsylvania State Games, held on the Penn State campus, with many Strawberry Fields consumers in attendance. Special thanks to the families and Direct Support Professionals who cheer from the sidelines and help make it all possible.

A Field of Smiles

Each summer, Strawberry Fields residents and staff gather under the lights for Spikes Night at the ballpark. It is one of the few occasions when individuals from all our programs come together, along with their families and friends, to enjoy baseball, snacks, and a shared sense of community.

Moments like these, where everyone is together, are meaningful. As one staff member shared, “Spikes Night is my favorite Strawberry Fields event.”

Summer Picnic

The annual summer picnic, hosted by our Intellectual Disabilities Program, is one of those special days that feels like a reunion. For the first time in several years, all 10 of our residential programs participated. Residents reconnected with friends, shared excitement about upcoming summer birthdays, and discussed their hobbies and seasonal adventures.

Each program brought something to contribute. Homemade coleslaw, brownies, fruit salad (with a lively debate about whether the tiny yellow fruits were kumquats), and even pulled pork with homemade barbecue sauce prepared by a DSP who is also a chef.

It was more than just sharing good food. It was the shared laughter and the simple joy of being surrounded by people who know and care about you.

These summer moments are not flashy. They are beautifully ordinary. But in them, we see the heart of our work—friendship, belonging, and community connection—an everyday life.