Sunset Hill Educational Institute (SHEI), a small 501(c)3 organization, was founded in 2006 by Carol Conforti-Adams in the rural town of South Sutton, New Hampshire. After a life-changing spinal cord injury that left her with a diagnosis of quadriplegia, Carol felt strongly that she could still contribute to the community and enrich other people’s lives. With an impressive background in health and education experience, she focused the mission of the SHEI organization to service at-risk youth, young adults, and individuals living with disability.

 

Assisting at-risk youth and young adults in the Kearsarge community, SHEI provides these young adults with the tools to build a more stable foundation for themselves through:

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• academic assistance with the goal of receiving a high school diploma;

• job and life skills training;

• career counseling;

• employment services;

• advocacy services;

• and SHEI's partnership with Kearsarge Community Network (KCN).

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Individuals living with disability can find connection and gain motivation for wellness through Wheelchair Health In Motion (WHIM), SHEI' free peer-driven program established in 2012 that provides individuals living with physical disability the tools for increasing their quality of life through:

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• upper-body exercise;

• positive peer support;

• leadership opportunities;

• career development;

• job skill-building;

• advocacy awareness;

• and adaptive recreational opportunities.

 

SHEI launched a new WHIM initiative, called WHIM at Home, just before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. WHIM at Home brings WHIM activities to individuals with transportation barriers directly to their home using remote conferencing technologies, like Zoom. You can find us exercising together live online twice a week, pop on and join us!

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And a holistic wellness resource for all... Most recently, SHEI's outdoor facility had major renovation that included the addition of 2000 feet of ADA* accessible pathways, an ADA accessible restroom, and an accessible pavilion. Carol's visualization of SHEI becoming a fully accessible wellness destination was completed in 2022. This destination is a safe, quiet place to experience the nourishing benefits of being in nature. SHEI's newest program addition, Nature's Way at SHEI, is (in the developmental stages) using nature as an example for broadening perspectives on life and providing mindfulness techniques to quiet the mind's chatter. Designed and brought to SHEI by Andy Jeffrey of Proactive Growth, program lessons have been piloted on SHEI's pathways in 2022 with great success! There's much more work to do and resources to uncover with Nature's Way at SHEI, we look forward to future activity.