Special Needs Arts Programs, INC

Special Needs Arts Programs, Inc. (SNAP), a private nonprofit organization. The organization provides people with disabilities opportunities that celebrate each person's unique abilities while cultivating creative expression, building friendships and peer relationships, fostering self-esteem and integration in the community through life-enhancing activities in the arts.

SNAP was started in 1981 with the formation of an integrated chorus for teenagers. The goal was to offer the special needs population educational and social opportunities that would enable them to become productive and accepted members of society. SNAP's recreational music programs were created to facilitate that social integration process. One year later, a second chorus was formed for adults. Today, the two choruses have been supplemented by a music therapy program for children and an arts and crafts program for adults. Each SNAP program is led by trained, qualified people, along with adult volunteers and high school students. The programs, with 70 to 80 participants, meet weekly throughout the school year.