Chase Bank is giving away $5 million to 5 charities. You can help by voting for your favorite charity on their Facebook page Chase Community Giving. I think you have to become a fan to vote, but I’m not sure. You can vote for 5 different charities. Please help a great charity win the much needed money for research, education and advocacy. Here are two charities that I voted for and I really hope you do too. Please! They are both in the top 10, but they need more votes to be #1.
Do you know what the #1 childhood disorder in America is? It’s autism. You probably know something about autism. But do you know that in addition to the difficulty they have with relationships and communication, they could also have severe gastrointestinal pain, seizures, food allergies, auto-immune disease, sleep disorders, and self-injurious behaviors. Chances are you know someone with autism. I do. My cute 3 year old nephew Avi was diagnosed with it and it changed his parents’ lives with that one diagnosis. The hopes and dreams they had for him had to be altered to fit his reality. What if they didn’t have to? What if the money from Chase could be enough to help this growing population? Please consider the National Autism Association for your vote.
The other charity I encourage you to vote for is the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation, which raises awareness for and funds research for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). SMA kills more babies than any other inherited disease. One in 40 people are carriers. But have you even heard of it? My blogger friend Devon’s precious little boy Dakin has SMA. 90% of children with SMA die before their second birthday. Can you imagine how hard that is for Devon and her husband not knowing how much time they have left with their son? There is currently no treatment at all. But UC Irvine will be starting human clinical trials in 2010 of a treatment that has the potential to actually cure SMA. What if winning this money from Chase could mean that Dakin could not only remove the respirator that he currently needs to live, but he could go on living his childhood and into adulthood? 
This is all very humbling. Autism particularly scares me because it is rising so rapidly. There has got to be a cause...something that we are doing now that we didn't do much of decades ago. I believe we will find a cure or cause for autism so I think it is well worth contributing to.
ReplyDeleteValerie, thanks for your support and for your help in drumming up support. It's so nice to have family supporting us! Thank you.
ReplyDeleteIt's so great that you have a blog that's viewed by people all over the place! I think this is a great use of your blog, too. I can certainly remember when the diagnosis of autism was rare, at least to us. Now it's so common!
ReplyDeleteAnd SMA sounds so horrible. How sad that must be.
You're a good woman to publicize this.
I don't have a facebook account but my honey does. I'll go on his tonight and vote! Thanks for the info, Valerie!
ReplyDelete~ingrid
Thanks for the info. It breaks my heart to see those little faces, their eyes so full of hope and love, but I make myself look. It's the least I can do. That and Thank our Father for all the blessings I have, especially for healthy children.
ReplyDelete