Happy Thankgiving! The Fundraising Challenge Has Been Extended until 12/31

Oh Happy Day! Its the best Thanksgiving gift ever, Doris Buffett has extended our fundraising challenge until Dec. 31st. Hooray. This means the school has another 30 + days to meet the challenge. I knew that something was going to happen when Max Hall got involved and got out his fundraising thermometer. :) I mean, who can resist that boy ?

If you are looking for an end of year tax-deduction, consider giving a Tax-Deductible Contribution to help The Mariposa School for Children with Autism. Just use the Google checkout button here on the blog. There is still time to raise the 19k needed to meet the challenge & no donation is too small.

Also, please check out our new eBay Auctions page. We are auctioning two Yummi Glass Butterfly Pendants to help the kids. These pendants retail for close to $200.00. We are offering them for less on eBay to help the kids. They would make a great holiday gift. And everytime you wear it, you'd be helping children. Now, that's the best gift of all :)

Happy Thanksgiving from Max & all the children at Mariposa School.

COUNTDOWN: 31 DAYS LEFT TO MEET THE CHALLENGE!!

The pages on the calendar are turning & December 1st is almost here. As some of you know, The Mariposa School was challenged by the Sunshine Lady Foundation to raise $100,000 by December 1st, 2008. In return the Foundation would donate an additional $50,000. So, how are we doing? Well the good news is we're more than half way there with $60,000 raised to date. This is an outstanding achievement! A big THANK YOU to all of you who have helped us.

Now the bad news, we still need to raise $40,000 to meet the challenge & receive the grant money. Quite simply, we need help. Something like this takes a village!! No donation is too small to help these precious kids. And remember, your donation is tax-deductible.

I talked to Dr. Jacqueline Gottlieb, the head of the Mariposa school today to find out how the school was doing. Here is what she shared with me.

"Just the other day, I learned that a child may not be able to attend any more simply because there was not enough money to put gas in the car to transport him to and from school. Is the economy really that bad?

What is the true reality? For us here at Mariposa, the true reality is this. One in 150 children born each day is diagnosed with autism – that is one child every 20 minutes. To me as a parent, for every child with autism, it is a family that feels the impact. It is not only the same joy and heartache felt by every other parent, but it is much more than that. It is learning that there is not a cure, and not even an “official” cause for that matter. It is learning that programs are limited but the ones with the most supporting research cost more than an Ivy League tuition and that insurance rarely covers the expense. It is learning that the goal of providing the best for your child may be one that is beyond your reach.

The true reality is whether or not gas prices soar above $4.00 a gallon or the stock market hits a record low, those who are diagnosed with autism, need our help now."
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So please, if you can find it in your heart, help us meet the challenge before time runs out. No contribution is too small. Click here if you want to give to help this special school & these VERY special children. Both presidential candidates have talked about helping children with Autism, but that help seems like such a long way off. Please help us meet the challenge. Help those who face the challenges of autism now.

Visit our YouTube channel to learn more about these wonderful kids!

The Mariposa School for Children with Autism Launches YouTube Channel

The Mariposa School for Children with Autism recently launched its YouTube channel at: http://www.youtube.com/AutismTakeFlight. The channel is designed to feature stories of its students and information about the mission of the school. This month the Mariposa School is allowing public access to the stories of three autistic children via YouTube. According to the academic team, showing off the progress these students have made is a way to raise awareness for the high quality education and the intensive one-on-one education that students receive at Mariposa School. The videos are a testament to the power of early intervention for children with developmental delays.

The Mariposa School is making strides to promote successful teaching techniques for autistic children uploading films like “Max’s Story,” a film about a non-verbal student at Mariposa who communicates only through signs;

“Meghan’s Story,” about a student who has progressed to the point of speaking and interacting with her family;



and “Boston’s Story” about a boy who has learned to enjoy his parents and interact socially with them & others.

Other films on the channel include an overview of Mariposa School and the importance of “Helping Children with Autism Early”

Even with the wide range of these children’s abilities and perspectives, viewers will find one thing that is consistent among all the short films on the Mariposa YouTube channel -- each student’s story is a real story with narration by family members and teachers designed to effectively tell a story of hope.

View the channel today : http://www.youtube.com/AutismTakeFlight

Good-bye apathy! Max's Transformation

I have a confession to make – I’m not a joiner. I’ve just never really been someone who gets involved - not in the PTA, not in political campaigns, and not even neighborhood causes. For the last 20 years, I’ve stood by apathetically and watched my friend Laura as she got fired up about a cause, organized others to get fired up, and did things in her community. I’ve always admired her for her energy and commitment to the greater good, but it wasn’t for me. I was busy with work and taking care of my family. I told myself, “I have a lot on my plate, and I just don’t have time to do it”. I’ve always been grateful that people like Laura were there to take care of things and to make the world a better place for my family and me. The truth is that I was comfortable with my apathy.

That is until my son Max started at The Mariposa School.
My son Max has been going to Mariposa for 2 years now. He started with no functional communication and now he has close to 50 signs. He is even making up is own signs when he has difficulty using the one’s he know to tell me what he wants. Last night at the pool, Max went up to a woman he didn’t know and signed “sing”. She had been playing and singing a song to her child and Max thought it looked like fun. I wanted to jump up and down and scream to everyone “My child asked for something from someone he doesn’t know!” Realizing that was inappropriate, I just explained to the woman that he was asking her to sing. She smiled and started to sing again. Max splashed. Not everyday is filled with thrills such as this, but many are. Max going to Mariposa has completely changed my family’s life. My little man is truly coming out of the cocoon and I want to shout it from the rooftops “look what he can do!!”

Because of Max’s transformation, I want other children to have the chance to come to Mariposa and come out of their cocoons. We have had been so fortunate because we have a generous family member who helps us send Max to this wonderful school. We could not do this without her help. I know that there are other families who are fortunate like mine, but there are many more who are not. That is why raising money for The Mariposa School has become one of the most important things to me. I am committed to helping this school grow and to making it possible for all children to benefit.

Good-bye apathy!
So now that I’m fired up, the next step (based on watching what my friend has always done) is to get other people fired up. That is where you come in. There are many opportunities, both large and small, to help raise money for The Mariposa School. Even if you have limited time, we can find something for you to do. Together, we can meet this initial challenge to raise $100,000 by December 1. After that, the sky is the limit!

Article contributed by: Laura Fish-Hall