​Jeffrey is an extraordinarily talented, award-winning musician and a well-educated young man, who teaches and mentors students and adults with disabilities during his down time.  

We invite you to view this video of Jeffrey, as he describes his journey with Winters Center for Autism and the impact the experience has had on his life. 

Please enjoy this video of Nicole receiving her first paycheck as an employee of Winters Bros. Waste Systems along with her story of how she got where she is today..

In May of 2021, Nicole began her WCFA Work Experience Training at Winters Bros. Waste Systems along with her journey towards meaningful employment full of excitement, energy and pure happiness.

Instantly, everyone at Winters Bros. met Nicole with a warm welcome. Those warm welcomes quickly led to formidable coworker relationships and lasting friendships.

On any given Tuesday or Thursday, you can find Nicole deeply engaged in a variety of tasks. Nicole efficiently files, prepares invoices for mailing, fills copiers and printers, waters plants, and cleans and sanitizes the break room.
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Nicole’s positivity and happiness is apparent whenever anyone is in her presence. It has been evident since the start that this was a perfect work place for Nicole. So you can imagine in January, when she was offered a paid position at Winters Bros, she was filled with joy. Her reaction and what happened next is indescribable, we thought we would let this video explain it all. Enjoy every second, as we sure did!
#winterscenterforautism #hireforahigherpurpose

​In recognition of his advocacy on behalf of those with Autism and philanthropy to related charitable causes, RVC Blue Speaks, the largest Long Island-based autism charity, will honor the legacy of entrepreneur Joe Winters, former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Winters Bros. Waste Systems, a leading provider of recycling and solid waste services on Long Island. Mr. Winters’ wife, Michele, will accept the legacy award in his honor. Mr. Winters founded the Winters Center for Autism, a vocational training and job placement program for people with autism.
 
Since its inception in 2017, RVC Blue Speaks has raised over $300,000 for autism support and awareness. Their fourth annual gala (the last event was 2019), will be held on Saturday, April 23, 2022, at the Coral House in Baldwin, NY. Mr. Butch Yamali, President and CEO of the Dover Group, and the 2019 RVC Blue Speaks gala honoree, has once again donated the cost of the event.
 
“On behalf of the RVC Blue Speaks Board of Directors, we are very grateful to Winters Bros. and Mr. Winters’ family and are pleased to recognize them for their tireless advocacy in support of a wonderful cause, one we all hold dear to our hearts,” said Anthony Cancellieri, Co-Chair of the Board of Directors. “Over the past four years, Rockville Centre and the surrounding communities have generously opened their hearts and wallets to support families affected by autism. We are grateful for their continued support.”
 
Anthony and Mary Lou Cancellieri of Rockville Centre, NY, founded RVC Blue Speaks in 2016 when their grandson Louis was diagnosed on the autism spectrum at age 2. The group’s mission is to promote awareness and acceptance of those affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder so that their quality of life is enhanced and their potential is fulfilled and to raise funding for genetic research, support programs, and community initiatives that directly serve families in need on Long Island and; to change the conversation about autism into action and progress. To date, the group has donated thousands to support those with autism through grants and scholarship programs. They have generously given to the Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Hagedorn Little Village School in Seaford. They partnered with Mount Sinai South Nassau to fund “Louie,” a Vecta machine that provides a calming atmosphere for people with autism spectrum disorder in the stressful and often unknown environment of an emergency room or hospital.
 
It also awarded thousands in scholarships to high school students entering the Bridges to Adelphi program at Adelphi University. The program at Adelphi allows students on the autism spectrum to more easily transition into university life and then, upon graduation, the workforce. Locally, the group has begun implementing plans to partner with the Village of Rockville Centre on a village-wide “light it up blue” awareness campaign for the month of April.  
 
Today, Winters Bros. is the largest recycling and solid waste company on Long Island serving residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers. The Winters Center for Autism, a not for profit affiliated with the Winters Family Foundation, was launched in 2020. The Center is committed to enhancing and improving the quality of life for adults with autism through job creation, training and placement while helping Long Island employers develop and implement programs for capable and trained employees.
 
“The Winters Family and Winters Bros. Waste Systems are committed to support organizations that work to aid people with autism so they're able to enhance their quality of life,” said Mrs. Winters. “Joe was tremendously impressed with the work of RVC Blue Speaks. I am deeply touched to accept this award in honor of my husband’s legacy.”
 
For more information about RVC Blue Speaks or to reserve your ticket for the upcoming gala, please visit www.rvcbluespeaks.org or on Facebook @RVCBlueSpeaks. 

Message to Young People Fulfilling their Hopes and Dreams

In recognition of #NationalBeHeardDay, we invite you to listen to Andrew as he talks about the impact employment has had on his life and shares with us the lessons he learned along the way.
#MojoMonday
#DevelopmentalDisabilitiesAwarenessMonth

John and Carlos started their work-training journey at Yonida Intl. Trading Corp, early this fall. Yonida owners, Gabi and Gigi Aharoni, reached out to Winters Center for Autism and conveyed their desire to partner with the program to support the center’s mission to “Hire for a Higher Purpose.”

Today, we are happy to share that John and Carlos have begun the onboarding process to become paid employees of Yonida, after just a few short months of job training.

Currently the rate of unemployment for adults with autism is 90%. It is with the continued support of caring businesses like Yonida, and the kindness and generosity of our supporters that we can change this statistic. When a supportive business gives us a platform to provide job training then we are a step closer to increasing meaningful and sustainable employment for adults with autism.

When we first introduced this unique work experience opportunity to Melissa and Anna the excitement was one to behold. Both of these gifted and talented young ladies were jubilant when they learned there was a job training opportunity to work with beautiful crystals and beads.

On October 18, 2021, what seems to be two matches made in Heaven, came to fruition as Jack and Alisa Mandel opened their hearts, and their doors, at The Bead Market to Melissa and Anna.
With a task that is equal parts tedious and precise, Melissa and Anna are learning the intricacies of sorting, packaging and labelling elegant, glistening and, at times very tiny, crystals and beads for worldwide distribution.
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What began as a rare work experience opportunity has become a labor of love, as both Melissa and Anna share the same enthusiasm and joy whenever they are together at The Bead Market.
Your support truly makes a lifetime of difference to so many. Thank you again for helping create a world where all people with autism can reach their full potential.

​“Be bold enough to use your voice, brave enough to listen to your heart, and strong enough to live the life you’ve always imagined."
- unknown

Jason began his work experience training with the Winters Center for Autism at Long Island Select Health Care(LISH), in Hauppauge, in September. He was immediately welcomed by the remarkable staff at LISH, and it quickly appeared that he was enjoying his work experience. So much in fact, that he was asked if he wanted to share his feelings with us. Without hesitation he knew what he wanted to say, and how he wanted to say it.
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The Winters Center for Autism welcomes you to listen to Jason as he shares his journey, and his advice to businesses looking to #hireforahigherpurpose.

Jeffrey Kautz is a young man with a wealth of talent. A well-educated, award-winning musician, a music teacher, and a mentor to students and adults with disabilities, Jeffrey is equal parts gifted and kind.

From a very young age, Jeffrey demonstrated a passion for music. A natural talent, Jeffrey garnered many awards both in his youth and in adulthood. In high school he received 19 NYSSMA Gold Medals in a variety of instruments including classical guitar, jazz drum set, snare drum, marimba, and timpani. He further received All-State recognition on Snare Drum, Marimba, and Timpani.

​Despite all of these honors if you were to ask Jeffrey what his most treasured achievement in high school was, he would share that it is not music-related at all. Instead, Jeffrey would articulate that it is the time he spent while teaching, coaching, and mentoring students with disabilities in a weekly Physical Education class during his four years of high school.
 
After graduating high school, Jeffrey attended the prestigious Mannes School of Music in New York City. With the acceptance rate sitting at approximately 24%, garnering an invitation to attend this program is no small feat. As his course work was coming to completion at Mannes, Jeffrey concluded his experience by becoming the only solo timpanist to win the Mannes School of Music Concerto Competition. For Jeffrey, this was only the tip of the musical iceberg! An immense talent, beyond years and measure, on his twenty-first birthday Jeffrey would give the performance of a lifetime. Jeffrey was hand-selected to perform at the Czech Consulate in New York City for Drumming for the Bubny Holocaust Memorial Service. Following his riveting performance, Jeffrey attended a State Dinner with ambassadors from the United Nations.
 
Jeffrey continued to further develop his musical aptitudes attending graduate school at New York University Steinhardt where he received his Master’s Degree in Music. During his final semester at NYU Jeffrey performed as an actor, with a role as a drummer, in the HBO series “Plot Against America.”
 
This summer Jeffrey joined the team at the Winters Center for Autism as an Administrative Clerk. He recently lent his musical prowess to the center at a very special event. On October 4th, the Inaugural Joe Winters Golf Outing was held at the Old Westbury Golf and Country Club. To cap off the day’s festivities attendants transitioned to the evenings events honoring the life and legacy of the Winters Center for Autism’s founder, Joe Winters.

As the night progressed the time arrived for Jeffrey to bridge his love of music with his passion for giving. As he waited in the wings, to be introduced to a room of 400 guests, Jeffrey’s excitement grew in anticipation of his performance.

​What transpired once he took the stage was nothing short of breathtaking. Jeffrey entered the room, approached his marimba, and with intricate detail positioned his mallets. Preceded by one deep breath Jeffrey meticulously, with extreme focus and precision executed his first piece, Yellow After the Rain composed by Mitchell Peters. He finished his first installment and was met with thunderous applause and a standing ovation. Humbly, Jeffrey thanked the audience only to quickly remind everyone of the genesis of the event, immediately acknowledging Joe Winters, and all that he has done for the autism community. Without pause he prepared for his next piece, Flight of the bumblebee by composer Rimsky Korsakov, again finishing to another standing ovation.

It was a beautiful day, complimented with a magical evening courtesy of the musical talents of Jeffrey Kautz!
To truly understand and appreciate the magnitude of Jeffrey’s accomplishments we leave you with a quote from Jeffrey.

 “Sometimes in life, we are presented with obstacles that shape our lives forever. Autism has made me a hardworking, loyal and caring person. I hope I can inspire others to achieve their dreams.”
 
Feeling inspired? Do you own a business and want to partner with us and “Hire for a Higher Purpose?” Please contact the Winters Center for Autism at (631) 635-1169.