{"id":11049,"date":"2025-01-30T14:50:29","date_gmt":"2025-01-30T22:50:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hopeservices.org\/?p=11049"},"modified":"2025-01-30T14:58:46","modified_gmt":"2025-01-30T22:58:46","slug":"dei-spotlight-april-basuini-hopestudio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hopeservices.org\/news\/dei-spotlight-april-basuini-hopestudio\/","title":{"rendered":"DEI Spotlight: April Basuini, HopeSTUDIO"},"content":{"rendered":"

Article written by: Jacqueline Fortino-Lance & Alia Haque, Members of Hope Services DEI Committee<\/strong><\/p>\n

April Basuini is Hope\u2019s resident artist, using her creative vision and talent to help the clients we serve thrive. Born and raised in Silicon Valley, April is a proud Irish American who strongly identifies with Italian culture. She is a daughter, sister, wife, and mother. Married for 35 years into a large Italian family, she has four adult children and cares for her beloved mother-in-law. April loves to laugh, enjoys sarcasm, and spends her free time quilting, sewing, antique hunting, and collecting vintage Pyrex and toy sewing machines.<\/p>\n

For the past seven years, April has brought her 33 years of fiber art experience\u2014including sewing, quilting, and hand embroidery\u2014to our Day Programs. She considers it a great privilege to manage and develop the Arts Program, where she recognizes clients\u2019 creative skills and provides the support they need to succeed. April also challenges perceptions of disabilities through her work. Whether hosting visitors at HopeSTUDIO or attending art fairs, she finds joy in watching people admire the beautiful artwork on display\u2014followed by the surprise and excitement of learning that these incredible pieces were created by individuals with diverse abilities.<\/p>\n

When asked how she found herself at Hope Services, April shared:<\/p>\n

“I managed a quilt shop for 15 years, but when the owners and I decided to pursue a different vision, the shop closed. I wasn\u2019t sure what I was going to do next, but I knew I didn\u2019t want a typical desk job with a long commute\u2014I wanted to give back. I had lived in Willow Glen for 30 years and often saw some of Hope\u2019s clients in the area. Then I saw a Craigslist ad for a position at Hope. Since I love fabric and people, I applied. I was hired to sew for Hope\u2019s original weaving program, which started in 2017. Unfortunately, the program closed just four months after I joined. I was devastated because I had already seen the huge impact art had on the clients\u2014it\u2019s therapy! Thankfully, the program director encouraged me to stay and find a way to use art in a different capacity. I was determined to keep the program alive, and I did.<\/p>\n

When I first started at Hope, I stopped trying to diagnose people. I didn\u2019t concern myself with who had autism or developmental disabilities\u2014I just saw people. My focus was on meeting their unique needs. Looking back, I wonder why it took me 30 years to get here, living just three-quarters of a mile from Hope!”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

When you meet April, you immediately see the love she has for the individuals at Hope Services. She admires their hearts, humor, and the way they care for each other. April stated, \u201cThey are amazing, talented, and deserving of being included in the world we live in.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Thank you, April, for your unwavering dedication and vision. Because of your persistence, HopeSTUDIO continues to grow and thrive. It provides meaningful opportunities for individuals who may not be able to work in traditional community jobs\u2014allowing them to create beautiful products, earn their own money, and take pride in their artistic contributions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Article written by: Jacqueline Fortino-Lance & Alia Haque, Members of Hope Services DEI Committee April Basuini is Hope\u2019s resident artist, using her creative vision and talent to help the clients we serve thrive. Born and raised in Silicon Valley, April is a proud Irish American who strongly identifies with Italian culture. She is a daughter,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":11053,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[208,206],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[1231,949,713,99,117,1438,1526,101,205,904,98,1871,398],"class_list":["post-11049","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hope-service","category-news","wpautop"],"yoast_head":"\nDEI Spotlight: April Basuini, HopeSTUDIO | Hope Services<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow\" \/>\n<meta name=\"googlebot\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"bingbot\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hopeservices.org\/news\/dei-spotlight-april-basuini-hopestudio\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"DEI Spotlight: April Basuini, HopeSTUDIO | Hope Services\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Article written by: Jacqueline Fortino-Lance & Alia Haque, Members of Hope Services DEI Committee April Basuini is Hope\u2019s resident artist, using her creative vision and talent to help the clients we serve thrive. 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