1936

• Philadelphia Easter Seals is founded.

1949

• Fuhrman Clinic School is opened in Philadelphia.

1952

• Bucks and Delaware County Treatment Centers open.

1953

• Montgomery County Treatment Center opens.

1956

• The first Day Camp is started in Bucks County. (Day Camps in Delaware, Philadelphia, Montgomery and Chester Counties are opened in 1957, 1959, 1970 and 1977 respectively.)

1962

• Old Forge School and Rehabilitation Center is built in Delaware County.

1968

• Easter Seals participates in the National Easter Seals Telethon for the first time.

1975

• Easter Seals begins providing transportation for school and camp.

1980

• Bucks County Center is purchased.

1983

• The expansion of workshops and support sessions is facilitated by special home and school coordinators.

1990

• Therapeutic summer programs begin for “at-risk” infants, toddlers and their parents.

1991

• A new Early Intervention Classroom opens in Delaware County. Montgomery, Bucks and Philadelphia Counties implement several new Early Intervention programs for developmentally delayed children and their parents.

1993

• After 58 years as a local affiliate of the Pennsylvania Easter Seal Society, direct affiliate status is given with the National Easter Seals Society.

1994

• Early Intervention programs, assistive technology and increased therapy services expand throughout the five-county area.

1996

• Major renovation to the Delaware County Center improves the comfort and atmosphere for clients and staff.

1997

• Local center-based programs achieve accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) — an award achieved by roughly 7% of early childhood programs nationwide.

1999

• Easter Seals provides the initial eligibility assessment for Early Intervention to children who reside in Berks and Lehigh Counties.

2005 Pew Charitable Trusts summer camp grant

• The Pew Charitable Trusts provides $150,000 over three years to support Easter Seals SEPA’s summer camp program for children and young adults with disabilities across the five-county region.

2006 Friendship Academy launches and Gresh Center is named

• Easterseals launches the Friendship Academy, an inclusive preschool where children with and without disabilities learn together.
• The Montgomery County center in Kulpsville is formally named the Tucker & Perry Gresh Center in recognition of longtime supporters Tucker and Perry Gresh.

2012 Summer day camping programs suspended

• Facing funding challenges, Easterseals ends its community summer day camps and focuses its summer services on Extended School Year (ESY) services, which provide therapeutic and educational support through the summer months.

2013–2014 New Bucks County center opens

• Easterseals turns a former Temple Shalom building into a state-of-the-art service center, and students start school there on February 13, 2013. After the Bucks County capital campaign, more than 100 volunteers equip the facility with a playground in a single day in 2014. The center is later named the Margaret “Judge” Brooks Center in memory of a longtime volunteer and staff member.

2015 Positive Behavior Supports introduced

• The organization begins implementing Positive Behavior Supports (PBS) across its centers. The goal is to strengthen social-emotional development and create a more intentional, team-based approach to teaching young children.

2016–2018 Assistive technology becomes a signature capability

• Easterseals increasingly positions assistive technology as a way to improve independence and participation for children and adults with disabilities.

2017 Brand Renaissance

• The organization adopts the national network’s rebrand from “Easter Seals” to “Easterseals.”

2017–2018 Charter school services

• The organization expands services to students with disabilities attending charter schools, adapting to changing educational structures.

2019 100 years nationally

• Easterseals celebrates its national centennial. SEPA marks it with local storytelling and a black-tie gala.

March 2020 COVID-19 disrupts normal operations

• Easterseals rapidly moves its educational programming to virtual instruction, and staff training for online teaching begins in March.

2021 MacKenzie Scott transformational gift

• Easterseals SEPA receives an unrestricted transformational gift from MacKenzie Scott.

2023 New Philadelphia center opens on Allegheny Avenue

• Easterseals opens a new center at 3111 W. Allegheny Avenue in Philadelphia, serving students in the Approved Private School program.

August 2024 Tim Kerrihard named Executive Director/CEO

2025 Inclusive Soccer Clinic

• Easterseals partners with Philadelphia Union youth coaches to offer “Soccer For All” — a free community soccer clinic for children of all abilities.

2026 Real estate consolidation and 90th anniversary

• Philadelphia Early Intervention operations move from the Yaffe facility to the Allegheny Avenue location.
• The Yaffe property is sold as part of a broader effort to reduce facility costs and strengthen the organization’s financial position.
• Easterseals continues transitioning its Bucks County real estate footprint.
• The organization marks 90 years in Southeastern Pennsylvania.