In the picture: Foster Garvey's Malcolm Seymour and Evelyn Thomas with My Time Inc. staff at the 2023 Breakfast With the Chefs event. Photo courtesy of My Time Inc.
Parents and caregivers of children diagnosed with autism and other developmental disabilities encounter numerous roadblocks to accessing resources for the complexities of raising a special needs child. Society often lacks adequate guidance and awareness that would help ease the strain these parents experience.
My Time Inc., a grassroots nonprofit based in Brooklyn, New York, understands the value of providing special needs parents access to instructional tools and emotional aid. The organization’s co-founder, Lucina Clarke, a former special needs educator, witnessed firsthand the emotional toll and despair that parents and caregivers can face.
Lucina dedicated herself to helping this overlooked segment of the community and, together with her husband Wayne, launched My Time Inc. in 2007 with a mission to support, educate, empower, enlighten and uplift parents of special needs children throughout New York City’s five boroughs.
Today, the organization is devoted to creating safe spaces for parents, grandparents and guardians caring for individuals with autism and development disabilities. My Time Inc. offers them a safe haven to share perspectives and strategies, gain knowledge, and feel a sense of belonging – practicing self-care to enhance the care they give their children.Foster Garvey began representing My Time Inc. in 2021 after New York office receptionist Evelyn Thomas had learned of the organization through her local community service circles and connected Lucina with the firm’s Pro Bono & Community Service Committee. The firm now serves as My Time Inc.’s outside General Counsel, led by Malcolm Seymour, who advises the organization on general business matters. Aaron Frishman, a Portland-based attorney licensed in New York, provides My Time Inc. parents with virtual legal trainings on a number of relevant topics, including guardianships, needs-based government benefits (e.g., SSI, Medicare, Medicaid, SNAP), and special needs trusts.
In April 2023, My Time Inc. recognized Foster Garvey at its annual Breakfast With the Chefs event, honoring the firm’s efforts to provide the organization’s parents with invaluable information and a sense of comfort. Foster Garvey also received a New York State Senate Citation for community service, acknowledging the firm’s sustained support and commitment to My Time Inc.
