Dr. Dennis Edelbrock’s GoFundMe effort has already raised more than $23,000.
ARLINGTON, Va. — An Arlington man is going above and beyond to give students with disabilities a memorable graduation experience.
Dr. Dennis Edelbrock has served as a trumpet professor at George Mason University’s Dewberry Family School of Music for three decades.
Yet, while teaching hundreds, if not thousands of students over the years, Edelbrock has also made time to care for his daughter, Emma.
The 23-year-old, who has Down syndrome, will graduate from Arlington Public Schools’ Program for Employment Preparedness [PEP] in June.
“They work on internships, getting the students out of the building so they can start to get into the real world,” Edelbrock said.
But Emma’s impending graduation recently got Edelbrock thinking – how could she, and other students with disabilities, celebrate that milestone like their peers who may get a new car or go on “Beach Week” with friends.
“That doesn’t really happen for special needs kids,” he said. “Not on the same level.”
So, Edelbrock created a GoFundMe page to help send Emma, 13 other students with…
