Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Thomas.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Michael. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My possibilities began as a day program for adults who have aged out of the school system (18+ years of age). Three mothers came together with a common goal to provide educational and community programming for their children, acknowledging that they had tremendous potential. They knew their sons could access their greatest possibilities the same way a typical person would; through continuing education.
Over the course of the past 9 1/2 years, My Possibilities has grown from serving 10 HIPsters (Hugely Important People) each day, to over 400 HIPsters a week. Additionally, our programming has grown to include a therapy program (speech, music, behavior, massage), a respite program for evening and weekend opportunities, a personal training program, culinary arts and many others. Most recently, we have merged with the LaunchAbility organization, a non-profit focused on job placement and supported employment for people with disabilities across North Texas. Collectively, we now serve over 500 individuals on a weekly basis.
Today, we are preparing to move into our future home, a 20 acre educational campus located on George Bush Turnpike in between Independence and Coit. We’ve designed a place of higher learning, focused on our HIPsters’ abilities, and will soon open a second facility focused solely on vocational training and job placement.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Unfortunately, Texas is the 2nd worst funded state in the United States as it relates to disabilities programming. To provide educational programming for a full 6 hour section, we are paid roughly $20 by the state. This means that we must fundraising the gap, ensuring that our students are provided the very best instructors each day they attend.
It is a difficult model to scale, as you can’t magically double your fundraising revenue every time you increase in program size. We have a goal to serve 3-4 times the number of HIPsters we see today, which means we have to find new ways of being self-sustaining. We are working on all of this now.
Please tell us about My Possibilities.
There are many programs which serve adults with disabilities each day and everybody has their own way of doing things. We are proud that we’ve found a way to ensure that top-level talent is engaged in programming, rather than part-time staff who aren’t eligible for benefits. As a result, our program has countless success stories of individuals who have come in with limited goals and left us for community employment, have moved into their own homes, have lost tremendous amounts of weight, or have improved their ability to communicate. We celebrate each of these wins equally, as they are equally important to the individuals their families.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Not much. We developed an organizational culture that is the foundation for everything we do. Each staff member operates with this mission statement as their guide. As a result, we know that decisions made each day are in the best interest of those we serve.
When you start an organization with this sort of heart-driven foundation, it’s hard to make mistakes that you can’t quickly overcome.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1631 Dorchester Drive, Plano, Texas 75075
- Website: http://www.MyPossibilities.org
- Phone: 469-241-9100
- Email: info@mptx.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mptxorg/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mypossibilities/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/mptxorg
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/my-possibilities-plano
Image Credit:
Photos by David Ochoa (www.david8a.com)
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