The Lindsey Robinson Scholarship Fund

Honoring an extraordinary teenager.
By Kerri Penno

In her short time in the Life Skills Program at Central Bucks West School in Doylestown, young Lindsey Robinson was a part of something great—a special program designed to give special needs students the emotional and vocational skills they need to add meaning to their lives.

Lindsey, who was mentally handicapped, thrived in the program. Lindsey fought to come into this world and fought to enjoy it to the fullest, her parents, Kimberly and Tom Robinson noted. The family, including Lindsey’s brother, Tommy, and sister, Lauren, travel extensively and Lindsey loved every minute of it. Whether it was hiking a rain forest in the Dominican, skiing at Lake Placid or swimming with stingrays, Lindsey shined. She could be just as happy playing with a puzzle or riding in a hot air balloon, her parents recall. “She was an amazing person and touched the lives of everyone who knew her,” Kimberly said.

Tragically, Lindsey’s road in the C.B. West program was cut short when she passed away in August of 2006. She was just 16 years old.

In a truly heartwarming turn of events, the Robinsons’ involvement with the Life Skills program didn’t end there. They continued to visit the classroom and Lindsey’s classmates. According to Tracey Soslow, teacher in the Life Skills program at C.B. West, the program is functional, teaching the students basic skills, such as handling money, telling time, reading—“things that would be important for daily living,” she noted. The program puts many of these students in the position to work out in the community, in nursing homes, grocery stores, settings where they can do jobs that don’t require too much specialty training, like bagging groceries, cleaning cafeterias or washing dishes. “It’s about giving these students the daily skills of living, that includes self care, employment and self advocacy,” Soslow explained.

In addition to vocational training, the Life Skills program prepares the students for life outside school and independence, which for some, means getting their own apartments and working a variety of part-time jobs. The school helps prepare the students for this level of independence by bringing them out into the community to experience work in nursing homes and similar settings. They also go on day trips to places like the Keswick Theater, in Glenside, PA, or to the movies. The teachers work with the students on communication skills, asking for help and polite behavior.

When budget cuts started to affect the program and limit the number of outings the students could experience, the Robinsons stepped in. Tom and Kimberly started the Lindsey Robinson Scholarship Program, which provides scholarships for students from C.B. West who are graduating and going on to college who have an interest in special education and who demonstrate a commitment to community service through volunteer work. In addition, the scholarship provides funds to the Life Skills program to fund trips out of the classroom and to add new equipment. Recently, the Robinsons donated a flat-screen television and a Wii gaming system to the program, which has become a valuable tool for working with hand-eye coordination, competition and motivation for the students.

The Robinsons hold beef and beers and raise funds through Kimberly’s dragon boat team and Tom’s insurance company, Robinson Insurance to fund the scholarships. The Robinsons are doing their part to extend the good work the professionals in the Life Skills program are doing, and to honor their daughter. “Lindsey wasn’t a normal teenager, she was an extraordinary teenager,” Tom stressed.
To learn more about Lindsey, visit the Robinsons’ blog at http://lindseyangel.blogspot.com. To make a donation to the scholarship program, send your donation to: Lindsey Robinson Scholarship Fund, c/o PNC Bank, P.O. Box 446, Buckingham, PA 18912

Kerri Penno (kpenno@gmail.com) is a freelance writer based in Conshohocken, PA.