Reaching for the Top: How One Dover Nonprofit Is Changing Lives for Children and Families

In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Amy Rich Crane, executive director of Reach for the Top Therapy, a nonprofit organization located in the McConnell Center that provides therapeutic services for children and young adults from birth to age 21. Crane, a dual board-certified pediatric occupational therapist with more than 15,000 hours of clinical experience, took over the organization in 2021 after leading clinics across the country during her husband's military career. She describes Reach for the Top's neuro-affirming, strength-based approach to serving children with a wide range of needs, including autism, ADHD, anxiety, complex feeding disorders, and the effects of trauma and abuse. The organization offers occupational, physical, speech, and, as of October 2025, mental health therapy, along with specialty programs such as hippotherapy, aquatic therapy, and community-based sessions at locations like the Children's Museum of New Hampshire. Since its founding in 2014, Reach for the Top has grown from serving 80 children a year to nearly 500, drawing clients from 48 surrounding towns and cities. Crane discusses how the organization supports families through educational resources, webinars, and community trainings, and she notes that volunteers can help through board service, deep-cleaning events, and donations of supplies and funds. As the outgoing Greater Dover Chamber of Commerce Nonprofit of the Year, Crane encourages community collaboration and says Dover is already leading the way in child development, mental health, and school safety. Listeners can learn more at https://reachftt.org/

In This Week in Dover History, we look back at Abraham Lincoln's 1860 visit to Dover, as remembered by George W. Benn in a 1909 Boston Globe feature that captured firsthand recollections of Lincoln from people who had seen him in person. Benn recalled Lincoln's powerful, plainspoken speech delivered just days after his famous Cooper Union address. Today, Lincoln's Dover connections remain tangible at the Lincoln Building on Locust Street, where he spent the night, and at the Woodman Museum, which holds the original lectern from which Lincoln spoke.