Seven Hills celebrates preschool graduates, advances accessibility in the arts, strengthens clinical collaboration, honors outstanding community citizenship, and recognizes 51 years of generosity supporting people with disabilities and life challenges.

NEXT STOP: KINDERGARTEN!

How is the Seven Hills Child Enrichment Center preparing children for kindergarten?

Seven Hills Child Enrichment Center recently celebrated its preschool graduates at Fitchburg High School in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, recognizing an important milestone as the children prepare to begin kindergarten and continue their educational journeys.

Families, staff, and supporters gathered to celebrate the graduates and recognize the teachers and staff who help children build the skills and confidence they need for their next chapter.

Through early childhood education, creative learning opportunities, and a nurturing environment, the Seven Hills Child Enrichment Center team helps children learn, explore, grow, and develop a strong foundation for future success.

Congratulations to our preschool graduates as they head to kindergarten, and thank you to the entire Child Enrichment Center team for the dedication, creativity, patience, and care they provide to children and families every day.

OPEN DOOR ARTS LAUNCHES CULTURAL ACCESS PRACTITIONER CERTIFICATION

What is the Open Door Arts Cultural Access Practitioner Certification?

Open Door Arts, a Seven Hills program, has launched the **Cultural Access Practitioner Certification**, a new professional certification designed to help arts and culture professionals develop the knowledge, practical skills, and disability-centered approach needed to improve accessibility within their organizations and across the cultural sector.

Open Door Arts officially launched the certification on August 12 at the Kennedy Center’s LEAD Conference, introducing the program to a national community of cultural accessibility professionals and leaders.

How does the certification support accessibility in arts and culture?

The Cultural Access Practitioner Certification provides arts and culture professionals with a structured opportunity to strengthen their understanding and application of accessibility practices.

The certification is the newest addition to the **Arts & Culture Accessibility Hub**, Open Door Arts’ online platform offering practical, disability-centered tools and resources designed to make arts and cultural experiences more accessible to people with disabilities.

With more than 124,000 Hub views in the past year, the certification represents an important next step for Open Door Arts: moving beyond access to information and toward a shared professional standard that can strengthen accessibility practices throughout the arts and culture field.

SEVEN HILLS CLINICIANS COME TOGETHER TO STRENGTHEN COLLABORATION

How are Seven Hills Adult Residential Services clinicians strengthening teamwork across Massachusetts?

In early August, Seven Hills Adult Residential Services clinical teams from the Central, Southeast, and Northeast regions of Massachusetts gathered for an in-person team-building event focused on connection, collaboration, and professional development.

With clinicians bringing a wide range of professional expertise and experience to Seven Hills, the gathering created opportunities for team members to learn more about one another, share knowledge, and identify new possibilities for cross-training and collaboration across regions.

The event also highlighted one of the strengths of working within a large, multidisciplinary organization: access to colleagues with diverse expertise who can serve as valuable resources to one another.

The gathering was an important reminder that across Seven Hills, professional knowledge, support, and collaboration are often just a phone call or email away.

CELEBRATING A HOMETOWN HERO IN WESTMINSTER

Why did Dan McCarthy receive the Nancy Green Award for Outstanding Citizenship?

Dan McCarthy, a person supported by the Seven Hills North Central Individual Supports (NCIS) program, received the **Nancy Green Award for Outstanding Citizenship** on August 9 in recognition of his kindness, generosity, and longstanding commitment to the Westminster, Massachusetts, community.

For many years, Dan has been an active and enthusiastic member of his hometown. He regularly contributes his time and talents to community activities, whether setting up tents, delivering meals, selling tickets, cooking hamburgers, participating in strategy meetings, or simply stepping in wherever help is needed.

His dedication is accompanied by a legendary sense of humor, an infectious smile, and an eagerness to contribute to the community he calls home. Seven Hills staff and Dan’s DDS Service Coordinator joined the celebration to cheer him on as he received the award.

Dan’s recognition demonstrates the powerful impact of active community participation and the important contributions people of all abilities make to the places where they live.

Congratulations, Dan, on this well-deserved recognition!

51ST ANNUAL LORI LAJOIE GOLF TOURNAMENT

How does the Lori Lajoie Charity Golf Tournament support Seven Hills?

The 51st Annual Lori Lajoie Charity Golf Tournament brought together sponsors, Worcester Country Club members, guests, and longtime supporters to raise funds for Seven Hills and the people with disabilities and life challenges supported by the organization.

For more than five decades, the Lori Lajoie Tournament has represented a remarkable tradition of community giving. The generosity of participants and sponsors helps Seven Hills provide services and opportunities that support people in living meaningful, fulfilling lives while helping make Greater Worcester a more welcoming and inclusive community for all.

What made the 51st Lori Lajoie Tournament especially memorable?

This year’s tournament produced a historic moment when Tom Drummond recorded the first hole-in-one in Lori Lajoie Tournament history, accomplishing the feat on the fourth hole during the afternoon round.

The ace earned Tom a $25,000 prize sponsored by Lamoureux Ford, which he generously donated back to Seven Hills.

That extraordinary gesture captured the spirit that has defined the Lori Lajoie Charity Golf Tournament for 51 years: community, generosity, friendship, and a shared commitment to supporting people with disabilities and life challenges.

Thank you to our sponsors, Worcester Country Club members, golfers, guests, volunteers, and supporters for making the 51st Lori Lajoie Charity Golf Tournament a memorable celebration of community and giving.

• View all the photos from this year's tournament on our Flickr album!

• Watch the 2026 Lori Lajoie Tournament video!