We were lucky to catch up with Lorraine Frederick recently and have shared our conversation below.

Lorraine, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Looking back, do you think you started your business at the right time? Do you wish you had started sooner or later

I wish that Social Sabby became my full-time focus earlier than it did in 2019, now seeing how much a program like ours is needed, and the impact it has made on the families with whom we work.

Social Sabby began informally in 2010, with Kevin hosting social groups for neurodivergent youth in our Meriden community. It all started so organically, simply from him identifying a need for social programming outside of the classroom for his students. These groups were first held at Holy Angels, a catholic school turned event space that had a gymnasium, classrooms and outdoor space. Social Sabby was housed here for the first few years as word of mouth increased our program size.

When Kevin was hired as a special education teacher at Maloney High in Meriden in 2013, we transitioned the program to operate out of MHS in partnership with the Principal, Jennifer Straub, a former special education teacher who saw the need Social Sabby was meeting. At this time, I was working at the US Headquarters for a global baby furniture company based in Stamford, CT; a position I accepted after leaving a successful career in the NYC fashion industry. This position didn’t last long for me, an unfortunate trend I experienced for the coming years as I began my transition to a career in CT. What I now know, is that I was going against the direction the universe was pushing me towards, I was pursuing a path in marketing for other organizations, when time has shown me that my time was best spent on helping to make Social Sabby what it is today.

In 2019, I focused on establishing Social Sabby as a ‘real’ business, opening an LLC, and then quickly transitioned to a 501c3 non-profit later that year. We were off and running, hosting social groups and expanding our program offerings when COVID hit and everything was postponed due to the schools being closed. We pivoted to virtual social groups that spring, before offering an outdoor summer camp that August 2020 which was very well received, especially after everyone had been socially isolated for sometime. It has been onward and upward ever since. What started as small social groups has expanded into a multi-service organization specializing in the support and education of children of all ability levels through social groups, summer camps, seasonal sports leagues, custom development plans, in-home/parent support, and general guidance for the families we work with. We’ve been fortunate to work with some of the same families since 2010 through today, seeing their children grow and develop has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life, outside of having my own children.

When Kevin and I decided to go for it and try to make something of Social Sabby, it just made so much sense at the time we wondered why we hadn’t explored it before; combine his passion and skills of working with children on the autism spectrum, paired with my business acumen felt like the perfect pairing. It is a blessing to be able to work with my husband, and help others in our hometown community. I feel a greater sense of purpose with my work that I have not experienced before, and for that I am very grateful.

Lorraine, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Lorraine Frederick, and I am a marketing professional, entrepreneur and also a published author.

I began my professional career working in the fashion industry in NYC in 2003 while attending The Fashion Institute. I had high ambitions of working for a major brand upon graduation, a goal I achieved shortly before making the decision to move back to my home state of CT. I quickly learned that sometimes once you achieve a goal, it doesn’t necessarily bring what you expected and I felt like something was missing.

During this time I was introduced to Social Sabby through my now husband Kevin, and it was this introduction to the work he was doing that dramatically changed my perspective and goals. I moved to CT, made a career pivot and began helping him informally with Social Sabby. It started very simply, making flyers for events, helping to advertise the program, and grew from there. When my career path wasn’t moving in the direction I wanted, I decided to focus on Social Sabby full-time and I never looked back. I remember it being a little scary, taking ownership of your livelihood, it was certainly a risk but Kevin and I had such a strong belief that we could make it work. It was exciting to chart our own path and looking back, it was the best decision we could have ever made for not only ourselves, but also for the community we work with that has been historically underserved outside of the classroom environment. Today, Social Sabby welcomes children of all ability levels to our programs, all of which have a central focus on fostering social skills for neurodivergent individuals. We host day camps, social groups, seasonal sports leagues, provide custom development plans, in addition to parent support and guidance. Kevin leads the program planning, and while I help with this, I also focus on all of the business background work supporting the website, marketing, creative and financials. We have expanded staffing and welcomed a new board in 2024 to continue working towards many future goals.

I am most proud that Kevin and I have been able to achieve success together, and helped many children and families over the years. There were many trying times for us, specifically our personal life in trying to start our own family. We suffered 5 recurrent miscarriages in a less than 2-year time frame, significantly impacting our mental health and well-being. This prompted me to begin writing as a form of therapy, and ultimately publish my first book titled; ‘My New Normal, Surviving My Miscarriages’. My goal being to help others going through a similar experience, to know that they were not alone in the thoughts or feelings many experience but few share.

For those new to Social Sabby, the most important thing I would want them to know is that our organization is unique in how we operate and support the participants. We incorporate peer mentors with participants who act as a buddy, helping individuals with various activities we offer. The peer mentor component fulfills a basic need we all have, friendship, inclusion and support. We operate as a small family business despite providing servicing for almost 600 youth in the last two years. We have created a very welcoming, warm and non-judegmental environment where kids can be free to be themselves, have fun, and develop valuable skills.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

During my experience trying to conceive, I became a shell of the person I typically am. It was a very trying time, and I was struggling with PTSD and severe post partum depression. Normally, work would have been a welcome distraction, but I found that working for Social Sabby during this time presented challenges.

Instead of work being a distraction, I was surrounded by children, a constant reminder of the thing I didn’t have but most wanted.

It was very difficult, but I somehow convinced myself that going to work our summer camp was better than staying home alone. It was during this week that we had a camper that was newer to our organization and on the younger side, needing more support at the time. During our swim time, I was his 1:1 in the pool, holding him as he splashed and played in the water, he must have been around 4 years old at the time. The joy I saw him experience in that simple moment made me realize that I did want to continue to try to have a family of my own, something I was beginning to question.

I recall being so grateful for Social Sabby and this shared moment of joy that had such a profound impact in my personal life. Kevin and I now have two healthy daughters and we cannot imagine life without them, we always say that we get as much from Social Sabby if not more than the partipants we work with, and this is definitely the biggest and best example of this.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Our best and primary referral source has been and continues to be word of mouth for the families we work with. This is something we are especially proud of because it is a testament to the impact we are having and the results parents are seeing with their children.

Over the last few years, we have also established many partnerships within our state of CT. We are official service providers for the CT Department of Children and Families where we offer 1:1 mentoring, the CT Department of Developmental Disabilities who provides grant funding for families to attend our programs, The Meriden Board of Education where we have hosted Extended School Year programs for Meriden students, in addition to The Meriden Parks and Recreation Department who provides field rentals for our seasonal kickball leagues.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/socialsabby/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SocialSabbySponsorshipsInc/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/35680376/admin/dashboard/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@socialsabby6065
• Other: [email protected]

  203-208-9248