Max Higbee Center

Thank you volunteers Jake and Colleen for yesterday's Bouquet Class! GORGEOUS blooms for our BEAUTIFUL members -- we appreciate you so!

Trained relationship and sexuality educators from Cascade Connections will be offering this 4-session course to current MHC members at no cost this fall!

🔷Register here: https://tinyurl.com/4ujmmee9

Max Higbee Center will be closed Monday, August 31st through Tuesday, September 8th for our summer end break and staff training. You may leave a message at our front desk at 360-746-7181 or for our Program Managers at 360-333-4285. And we will respond as soon as possible upon our return. Peace!

When you have control of the radio at VITAL Bellingham and get to climb to your favorite tunes 🧗‍♂️ 🎶🤘

The first ever Inclusion Festival was an absolute hoot -- we offered silent disco and face painting! Save the date for next year: JULY 24, 2027!

$26,805.40 raised... and it's all thanks to YOU!

We are beyond grateful to everyone who helped make the inaugural Max'd Out BBQ Competition such an incredible success.

Because of our amazing competitors, generous sponsors, dedicated volunteers, hardworking judges, and every single person who came out to enjoy some incredible BBQ, we raised $26,805.40 for the !

Happy to highlight this new partnership with the Geographic Information Science (GIS) students at Western Washington University!

They made us this awesome accessibility map indicating custom landmarks, curb cut crosswalks, as well as the slope and roughness of sidewalks in central downtown Bellingham. With multiple group outings and countless one-on-one excursions every day, we're excited to explore all the ways we can use it!

We'll collect feedback/input from members and staff on this tool as we plan outings, choose safer/smoother pathways for our groups and give members even greater opportunity to engage and take the lead on where we go, what we do and how we get there.

And then we'll share our experience and our ideas on how this map project can be expanded/improved/reimagined with the next WWU GIS cohort here at MHC.

Thank you to this wonderful group of students for their curiosity, openness, enthusiasm, attention to detail, communication and care throughout this collaboration!

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the Bellingham Bells Community Champions Game last month! Thanks to you, and the generosity of the Bells' donation, we raised $6,500 for Max Higbee Center!

It was an immensely joyful evening as Max Higbee Center members took the field alongside the Bellingham Bells, celebrating inclusion, teamwork, and the power of community. Watching our members share the field with the Bells was a meaningful reminder of what can happen when everyone has the opportunity to participate and belong.

A heartfelt thank you to the Bellingham Bells for their continued partnership and commitment to creating inclusive opportunities in our community. We are also grateful to everyone who attended the game and helped support Max Higbee Center through ticket sales.

Your support helps make recreation, friendship, and community connection possible for youth and adults with developmental disabilities.

Thank you for helping us build a more inclusive community. We hope to see you at the ballpark again next year!

"The Max Higbee game with the Bellingham Bells was the most inclusive sporting event I've ever experienced. It was about belonging, joy, and community. I happy cried more than once. It was fun. It was joyful. And it reminded me what community can look like when everyone is welcomed onto the field. It was incredibly beautiful. I was really proud to be there. And I was really proud to watch my cousin's son play as a buddy for the Bellingham bells. Thank you all for everything you do, and as always, still hoping as a family, we move back to the area so my son and daughter can go to the Max!!"

Maria Pepperworth, Vice President of the Autism Society of Washington