Re: Digest Number 3659

[Guest guest]

State by State info needed, as well as funding. Please read in full.

Over four years ago, the founders of Unlocking Autism had a dream to one day

provide a call center and hotline to the autism community.  A place where

parents and caregivers could turn for assistance and resources available in

their area.  A place where they could talk to experienced individuals with

their many questions, or to call for direction in their search for the

answers to those questions.

We have served the autism community in this way on a smaller scale and it is

our total passion.  More than anything else that we do, or have done, we

enjoy speaking with a mom from Tulsa, OK or talking to a dad in Greenville,

SC or trying to guide a grandma from Salem, OR.  We have seen the community

grow and strengthened by connecting the people that we come in contact with

to the people that we already know from their area of the country.  We have

done this from our kitchens and dens. It is what we do best.  We are by no

means claiming that we have all the answers, but, as each of you know all too

well, when a child is diagnosed, or when someone first indicates that a child

might have autism, a parent has very few places to turn. We know too well

what it was like to walk through those devastating few months after a

diagnosis with no where to turn.  We want to make the journey easier for

other parents by giving them a shoulder to lean on, a place to start and

resources to equip them as they begin their travel down this road of loving

and caring for someone with autism.  Someone to talk to who has been there

before them. 

Now…in the flavor of Louisiana…â€WE WANT TO KICK IT UP A

NOTCH!â€Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 

SO…..BAM…

The Unlocking Autism National Call Center and Hotline will go live on

National Autism Awareness Day – April 27th, 2003.

Through generous donations, Unlocking Autism has been the grateful recipient

of a 13 line phone system, the installation of the phone system, cubicles and

office furniture for each station, in the last 4 days the funding for a

computer network system including 4 computers and a printer, as well as some

basic operating expense funding. 

HERE'S WHERE YOU COME IN:

Over the next couple of weeks we will be gathering information on service

providers for the autism community.  This can be information on ANYTHING and

ANYONE that has helped make your journey a little easier...support groups,

state agency's, private therapists, products, local doctors or dentists,

ANYTHING.  Please pass this information along yourself or contact the heads

of the organizations, authors of books, providers over services, etc. and ask

them to submit information.

This information MUST BE SNAIL MAILED TO THE OFFICE.  NO EMAIL OF INFORMATION.

 

Send a ONE PAGE cover letter with:

1. A BRIEF Description of what service the company/organization/professional

provides to the autism community.  

2. What geographical region is served. 

3.  The contact information to best be passed on to people that call from

their area. 

All this MUST BE SNAIL MAILED with 8 copies of the ONE PAGE cover letter and

8 copies of a flyer or brochure to:

Unlocking Autism, PO Box 237, , LA  70785. 

We need your support as a community for all the new parents out there that

will be diagnosed this year.  We have been asking for years through the Open

Your Eyes project if  we could put you in touch with newly diagnosed parents

and almost everyone of you that participated in that program said yes.  If

you have not sent in your picture for the Open Your Eyes project or indicated

that you would like to be a part of this project, please visit the projects

section of our website for more information on how you, too, can participate.

Although we have received the initial start up equipment and funding to open

the Call Center, we are still seeking grants to fund the operations of the

center.  We can’t gain access to local funding sources because we are a

national organization.  We can’t gain access to national funding sources

because they would like to see results.  We KNOW this is a worthy cause and

we KNOW this is needed in the community and we WANT to serve.  After six

months of active data and operation we will be able to obtain the grant

funding necessary.  We are currently working with several people on grant

writing and submitting those grants already. 

We are parents and know all too well the financial burden caring for a person

with autism can put on a family.  We also know that we would have given

anything during those first few days to have a place like The National Call

Center for resources and help.  We are asking you to reach back in your

memory to those beginning weeks and months following a diagnosis and make a

commitment to stand with us in making this journey easier for others. 

To fully fund the operation of the Call Center over the next six month's we

only need to raise an additional $42,500.  Because we know this is a fraction

of what it costs most national organizations to operate we humbly ask for

your support.

We currently need the following sponsorship levels:

400  UA Anchor Donation's of $25.00

400  UA Bronze Donation' of $50.00

100  UA Silver Donation of $100.00

10  UA Gold Donation of $250.00

        4  UA Diamond Donation of $500.00

     1  UA Angel Donation of $1000.00

You hold the KEY to Unlocking Autism. Please do not wait for someone else to

step up and open the door for you. You can only be sure that it will be open

if you do it yourself. To be a sponsor, visit our website at

www.unlockingautism.org and click on the red phone.

Thanks for all your support throughout the years.  We would have never gotten

this close to the dream without your help, faith, hope and prayers.

Jeana , Cale, Reynolds,

Dr. Cave and Shore