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4 Seven Hills Foundation e organization's original mission was driven by families and parents who always placed the needs and preferences of the individual first. ey strived to respect the dignity and self- determination of every person they served. Grounded in advocacy and social justice, these passionate individuals were determined to integrate their children into mainstream education; the families lobbied for and were granted four classrooms in the Bloomingdale School on Plantation Street in Worcester. WAARC's unrelenting advocacy efforts served as a catalyst for Massachusetts to pass a law in 1955, requiring Special Education classrooms that would serve as a model program for other states. In addition to securing educational opportunities for their children, the families sought to provide social experiences similar to those their siblings enjoyed. In 1957, they created Camp Joy at Boynton Park in Paxton where children could engage in a variety of activities from horseback riding, music, and art, to drama, gardening, and cooking classes. As WAARC grew and created relationships with other local agencies, it became apparent that the group required a designated leader to help steer the organization. In 1960, WAARC hired Harold Crockett as its first executive director; he held the position until 1975. GAINING MOMENTUM When WAARC's focus expanded to include adults with disabilities, the organization opened the Occupational Training Center (OTC) in one of the old City Hospital's outpatient buildings on Chandler Street in 1962. During its first year of operation, the OTC trained 80 individuals and placed 20 of them in jobs. Deinstitutionalization created chaos when first implemented in the mid-1960s but offered WAARC an opportunity to serve an even greater number of individuals with disabilities. ose who had resided in institutions were in desperate need of community supports and services. e state wanted agencies to accept 80 percent of residents from the state schools and 20 percent from the community. WAARC responded in 1973, by opening Oberlin House, the Bloomingdale School Camp Joy at Boynton Park in Paxton Occupational Training Center (OTC) brochure