E D U C A T I O N A L
P H I L A N T H R O P I C
SPECIAL
PROJECTS
A
message from Sue Buck, Chairman:
AUTISM
April is Autism Awareness Month and new statistics from the Center
for Disease Control indicate that 1 in 88 children will be born with autism.
One in 54 boys will be affected!
In Ohio, individuals with autism, advocates, families and state legislators
will gather for Autism Awareness Day at the Ohio Statehouse on April
26 to raise awareness of autism issues. Check the Autism Society in
your state to participate in planned activities for Autism Awareness this
month.
Most of our Senior members have heard about MedicAlert. It is a leader
in emergency medical information and identification services. During April
the MedicAlert Foundation and the Autism Society are partnering to raise
support for Autism Awareness. During April, the Foundation will donate
$5 to the Autism Society from the sale of each MedicAlert Kid Smart membership
purchased for a child with autism. A membership costs $29.95 and $20 per
year to renew. What a wonderful gift for your Circle to give to
a family living with autism! Clich on www.medicalert.org/kidsmart
for more information.
Did you know that half of all children with autism wander and that more
than one-third of those children are unable to communicate their name,
address or phone number? To combat the fear and anxiety families experience
should their loved one with autism wander, MedicAlert Foundation offers
medical ID's supported by a live 24/7 emergency support network. There
are several kinds of IDs available, including shoe tags.
The MedicAlert Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Knitting 4 Peace
Women4Women-Knitting4Peace
creates scarves for children and youth in impoverished areas where temperatures
can be cold and warm clothing is scarce. I am asking all the IOKDS knitters
and their friends across the country to unite to help create Scarves4Peace.
February is Dental Health Month and these scarves help children learn
about dental hygiene and teach the rest of their family members.
Scarves need to be a minimum of 4 inches wide and at least 54 inches long.
The children treasure fancy yarns and bright, festive colors. You can
download a pattern on the women4women-knitting4peace website or use your
own. Directions for shipping the scarves is included on the website. Click
on this link: http://www.knitting4peace.org/.
Laurie Mathews, founder of Global Dental Relief, delivers the scarves
to Nepal, India, Vietnam and Guatemala. Global Dental Relief organizes
volunteer dentists who provide examinations and hygiene instructions to
children ages 6-15. When the children complete their exam session they
are rewarded with their choice of a scarf.
The
recipient of nine honorary doctorates, Ruth Colvin was given the highest
award for volunteerism in the US, the President's Volunteer Action Award,
in 1987. In December of 2006, President George W. Bush presented Ruth
Colvin with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
"...I can't understand a life without reading. Can you imagine not being able to read a medicine bottle if you had a sick child?"
LITERACY
Ruth
J. Colvin, age 94, the founder of Literacy Volunteers of America, has
just written a new book, "Off the Beaten Path: Stories of People
Around the World."
The book details the many encounters Colvin had as she taught others to
read and write.
Ruth and her husband, Bob, have traveled around the world visiting 62
countries and providing literacy training in 26 developing countries.
She began LVA in 1962 after learning that 11,000 people in her hometown
of Syracuse, NY were not literate. The first volunteers were women from
her church. In 2002, Laubach Literacy International merged with LVA to
become ProLiteracy
Worldwide.
The IOKDS has been
a longtime supporter of Laubach Literacy International. It was founded
in 1955 by Dr. Frank Laubach. He was a missionary among the Maranao people
of the Phillipines where "Each One, Teach One" began. From 1935-1967
he visited 105 countries answering calls for literacy help and created
reading lessons in 315 languages.
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