Support An Autism Camp By Voting

I received this email and wanted to show my support by posting it on my blog. They are not asking you for money, just your vote.


I work for a non-profit in Dallas that helps kids with autism
and other delays. We are trying to win a $50,000 grant from Pepsi to fund our summer camp for kids with autism - and to do so, we have to be in the top-10 vote-getters on their site for our division.

A little about our project that the $50,000 would fund:

Camp SMILE! consists of five, 2 week, therapeutic day camps which
incorporate sensory integration, visual strategies, direct social
instruction, and positive behaviorial supports, for 45 children, ages
3-16, with autism. Campers are placed by age, social-language skills,
and functional levels so activities are developmentally appropriate.

Camp is staffed by speech and occupational therapists and special
education teachers who develop individual child goals while
facilitating positive, appropriate peer group interactions. Due to the
intense, individual needs of the campers, the camper/staff ratiois
three to one.

Campers work and play with others, develop strategies for making
friends, learn coping skills, experience making positive choices, and
understand the consequences of behavior. They learn self-calming
techniques, practice creative thinking, and have fun.

Parents get a brief respite from the intensity of parenting a child
with autism.

Could you promote it on your site and encourage everyone to vote every
day in May (and tell their friends)?

We are hovering around #125 - so top 10 is pretty far away for us!

Vote here - http://pep.si/aq5ytC


Thanks for any help you can give us!

Sincerely,
Liz Newsome
Program Assistant
The Warren Center

www.thewarrencenter.org

ONEHOPE Wine Supports Autism

It makes me feel good when I hear about a company that gives 50% of it’s profits to a charity. When one of the charities is related to Autism, I get excited. To find a company that does this in this economy is a wonderful thing. When Ben Decker of peakPRGroup contacted me about his client, ONEHOPE Wine, I was intrigued. ONEHOPE Wine doesn’t just sell wine, they support important causes.

They sell five different types of wines. Each one is dedicated to support a specific cause.
Cabernet Sauvignon - Autism
Chardonnay - Breast Cancer
Merlot - AIDS
Sauvignon Blanc - The Planet
Zinfandel - Our Troops

They have a sixth wine coming out that will have 50% of it’s sales go to charities fighting Cancer. It is their Pinot Noir and can be reserved now. Their will only be 100 cases available for purchase and is on sale for $24.99 a bottle or $299.88 a case. Also, they only charge 1 cent for orders of 12 bottles or more.

“Why Cabernet Sauvignon and Autism Awareness?
Generally, Cabernet Sauvignon is the varietal of choice for the male wine drinker. We chose to pair our Cabernet Sauvignon with Autism awareness because recent statistics show that four in every five cases of Autism affects the male gender. Autism affects 1 in every 150 children. “

I asked Tom Leahy, President of ONEHOPE Wine how much ONEHOPE Wine has donated to Autism charities, and he replied,

“We have donated about $7,500 to the Autism cause, and have donated over 40 cases of ONEHOPE Cabernet to support Autism charity events, just in the past two years. We hope to trump this amount in the coming year.”

ONEHOPE Wine is a young company, incorporated in 2006, and it is quickly taking off. It launched it’s first label in 2007. Originally, the company was named HOPE Wine, and they changed their name to ONEHOPE Wine to better represent the company and it’s mission. Currently, ONEHOPE Wine is available in 14 states at restaurants and stores. In 33 states, you can order online and have it shipped to you. They are a privately owned company with eight owners/partners. They are Sarah Gora, Vice President, Blake Petty, Chief Operations Officer, Alysse Ann Gome, Vice President, Brandon Hall, Chief Marketing Officer, Tiffany Goodman, Executive V.P. of Sales, Jake Kloberdanz, Chief Executive Officer, Kristen Senseman, Vice President, Tom Leahy, President.

“ONEHOPE Wine is currently available in restaurants and stores in the following 14 states:
Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon and Washington.
ONEHOPE Wine can be purchased online and shipped to the following 33 states:
Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming”

With three big holidays just around the corner, now is the perfect time to support your favorite cause (I hope Autism). I like to drink a glass of wine on Christmas Eve, and my mother-in-law usually buys a bottle or two for the ladies in the family to enjoy. I sent her a message the other day about ONEHOPE Wine so that this year she can buy this label and support Autism. Since the Cabernet Sauvignon is considered a man’s wine, maybe the men in the family will join us in our holiday tradition. When we lift our glasses and toast to the future, we can do so knowing we are helping to raise money for Autism and helping my son.
For more information, or to purchase wine, visit www.ONEHOPEwine.com or call 1-866-983-2266

Autism and Yard Sales

It's no secret that people have yard sales for all sorts of reasons. Charity functions are not exempt from the group. In fact, yard sales are very popular ideas among charity fund raisers.

Parents with autistic children should join the band wagon if they haven't already. There are people who belong to autism networks, autism societies, autism research groups, and autism awareness groups who have held garage sales for their causes. Why shouldn't the parents of these children benefit directly as well?

With everyone talking about how scary the economy is these days, it should be a given that yard sales are going to grow in popularity. I've held a sale this weekend myself to help family members who are struggling, and the traffic to the yard sale has been non-stop.

Don't just have a yard sale, though, throw in some baked goods and drinks. These sell especially well close to lunch and when the weather is hot outside. You can make your own ice for the soda ice chest and begin to store it in your freezer for the upcoming event.

One more thing to remember is that there are people out there willing to donate their used items just so they won't have to haul them off or have a sale themselves. If you want to have a sale, but don't quite have enough items yourself, begin to ask around for other people's unwanted items. Advertise on a free local radio channel that you are looking for donated items for a sale to benefit your autistic child. Put an ad in a local free paper. Put up flyers in laundromats and churches. It isn't wrong to take something someone else is giving away to help benefit your autistic child's needs. If the person doesn't want the item anyway, why shouldn't someone who needs the help get the benefit? It's an honest way to raise money, take care of your child's needs, and keep useful items from cluttering up a garbage dump or landfill.

It does require a little bit of effort, but it's an effort that can be well-worth it if you put the right amount of energy and prayer into it.