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Contents:
A Little Chicken Soup for the Soul Shay and his father walked past a park where some boys were playing baseball. Although Shay knew the boys, he asked, "Do you think they will let me play?" Shay's father knew that most boys would not want him on their team. But the father understood that if his son were allowed to play it would give him a much needed sense of belonging. Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance from his teammates. Getting none, he took matters into his own hands and said, "We are losing by six runs, and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him up to bat in the ninth inning." In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. At the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the outfield. Although no hits came his way, he was ecstatic just to be in the field, grinning from ear to ear as his father waved from the stands. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base. Shay was the next batter. Would the team actually let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was impossible. As Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher moved in a few steps and softly lobbed the ball. The pitch crossed the plate; Shay swung and missed. The pitcher again took a few steps closer, softly tossing the ball. Shay swung and hit a soft grounder to the pitcher. The pitcher could have easily thrown the ball to first to win the game. Instead, he took the ball and threw it far beyond the reach of the first baseman as everyone yelled,"Shay, run to first, run to first." Never in this life had Shay made it to first base. Everyone continued to yell, "run to second, run to second". By the time Shay was rounding first base, the right fielder had the ball and could have thrown Shay out at second base. But he understood what the pitcher's intentions had been, so he threw the ball over the third basemen's head. As Shay ran to second, the runners ahead of him circled the bases towards home. As Shay reach second base, the opposing shortstop ran to him, turned him in the direction of third and shouted, "run to third." As the team on the sidelines yelled for Shay to run home, he stepped on the plate and was cheered a hero for hitting a "grand slam" that won the game. And now a footnote to the story. Lekotek provides opportunities for students without disabilities to help fellow students with disabilities. This summer, high school students volunteered to make Lekotek's annual summer camp the best ever. Sixteen and seventeen year old boys were dancing with girls in wheelchairs while others patiently helped youngsters use adapted computer devices. And throughout the year, volunteers participate in computer club on Sunday afternoons. Staff overhear words of encouragement, observe high fives and notice friendships being formed. While Lekotek students may be nonverbal, our volunteers always find a way to communicate. We appreciate their time and help to insure Lekotek's mission of inclusion. September Race and Auction Raise $60,000 for Direct Services The tenth annual Lekotek run and silent auction held September 14th was a huge success in raising $60,000. A misty, overcast day did not keep a record 575 runners from participating in the four mile and one mile events. With a donation of $25,000 from presenting sponsor, The Marcus Foundation, the run was off to a great start. Additional sponsors included: Foothill Capital, Cendian, The Maslia Foundation, Abbott Laboratories, Swantech, Stoney River/Roswell, The Concourse Athletic Club, The Concourse Park, Career Sports Management, Cushing & Morris, High Cotton Apparel, National Premiums, Roche, Ford Motor Company, Coca Cola Bottling, Saab, Szabo Associates, Pittman Construction, Victor Realty, RegionsBank, Mark C. Pope, Burnham Builders, Ippolito's, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Crown Relocations, Powerbar, Sign Central, Hennessy Lexus, Suwanee Realty, VF Intimates, Weiland Printing, Piedmont Construction Group, Handicapped Driver Services, Herman & Jones, Elan Pharmaceuticals, American Elevator, Wyeth-Ayerst, Repro Productions, Coloplast, Pfizer, Resource Medical, Here to Serve Restaurants and QuikTrip. Lekotek would like to thank the four hundred companies who donated weekend stays, dinners, sports memorabilia and services for the silent auction. We appreciate all of our volunteers and a special thank you to the Tucker Optimist Club and Junior League of Gwinnett and North Fulton. Raising funds day in and out requires constant dedication from a committed staff and board of directors. In the quest for more and more dollars, nonprofits can lose sight of their mission and who it is they serve. A highlight of this year's event was running the one mile event with James Seidl, an adorable outgoing six year old with cerebral palsy who uses a wheelchair. In response to James' plea to push harder and run faster, we crossed the finish line first in the wheelchair division. Of all the duties I perform at Lekotek, none is more important than being a Lekotek leader. Our most recent audit shows that nearly ninety per cent of all funds support direct services. All revenues raised from the run and auction will be used to provide direct services to children and families. Balentine and Company Funds Neonatal Hospital Visits For the past two years, Lekotek leader, Peggy McWilliams has been conducting play sessions at Northside Hospital with plans to expand to Children's Healthcare as well. Mike Wolf, CFO of Balentine & Company presented this project to Robert Balentine, founder and chief executive officer. Balentine & Company, an Atlanta based investment advisory firm of Wilmington Trust, objectively advises individual, family and institutional clients on the management of their investment portfolios. Balentine & Company generously donated $10,000, the initial grant for this program. Excerpts from Mike's letter asking his company to support Lekotek were as follows: "Recalling the summer of 1996, most people in Atlanta immediately think of the Olympics. My personal experience from that summer is the early arrival of our first child. Taylor Ashley Wolf could not wait to enter this world arriving two months early. As parents, especially first time parents, I can not imagine a much more difficult day than one in which you leave your baby at the hospital. While Chris and I went home devastated, Taylor was trying to learn to breathe, eat and function. I remember the range of emotions we went through: anger, frustration despair, sadness, self pity. Then I looked around at the other babies and realized how much we had to be thankful for. Taylor would be home in 3 weeks. I recall seeing birthdates on incubators for babies that had been in the hospital for over 6 months and remember a unit for children a year and older. A few years later, my sister had a similar experience delivering triplets who were 14 weeks early. Under two pounds, each weighed a little more than a can of soda. Noelle, who Helene bonded with immediately upon seeing in the NICU, has cerebral palsy. She is making great strides with Lekotek's help. I've learned that Lekotek helps parents answer, "Where to I go from here?" and "How can I help my child?" Mike is a member of Lekotek's newly formed funding advisory. We would also like to acknowledge receipt of a donation in the amount of $2,000 from the Lockheed Martin employees. Family of the Month: The Ford's "I Want to Walkie Walkie" Having just returned from our first family vacation to the beach, "I Want to Walkie Walkie" quickly became the theme of the week. For most children, running up and down the beach in the wide-open space is a dream come true. We could hear squeals of delight as Anna, Sydney and Harrison tried to catch the surf as it came in and out. They became particularly adept at scattering in different directions as we tried to catch up with them. After all, Anna and Sydney just turned 3 and Harrison is only 21 months old. As she has throughout her eventful 3 years, Noelle found her own way to keep up with her siblings. Noelle has cerebral palsy and cannot yet walk independently although she continues to make amazing progress. Since her walker and crutches did not work well on the sand, Noelle took matters into her own hands and insisted on walking up and down the beach holding our hands. Every day when we were on the beach, Noelle wanted to run and play with her brother and sisters. She would say, "I want to walkie/walkie with hands." She must have walked at least a mile every day holding on to Mommy, Daddy or Aunt Stephanie or Uncle Sid's hands. She may not have been quite as fast as her siblings, but she certainly enjoyed the beach as much as they did! Our hope for the next beach vacation is that Noelle will be saying "walkie walkie all by myself!" Unbeknownst to us, Noelle and Helene actually met in the hospital and all four children look forward to play sessions with Helene and Peggy. We are grateful to Lekotek for providing opportunities for the whole family to play and learn together. Children's Trust Fund Commission Supports Cobb Site The Georgia Children and Elderly Fund was created by legislation adopted by the Georgia General Assembly in 1992. This legislation enables and encourages Georgia citizens to make voluntary contributions to supplement traditional financing mechanisms for programs that provide home delivered meals and transportation services for the elderly and for programs meeting the needs of preschoolers with special needs. Georgia income tax return forms offer taxpayers the opportunity to contribute to the Georgia Children and Elderly Fund. Funds for preschool children are expended through a grant process with the Department of Human Resources, Georgia Children's Trust Fund Commission. Programs must provide prevention or early intervention services and must be family focused. Programs for consideration include: protecting children, preventing child abuse and neglect, providing access to health care, linking families with needed resources, strengthening child development and enhancing parenting skills. This year, close to $120,000 was awarded to six programs. For the past six years, Lekotek has been the recipient of a grant from the Children's Trust Fund. Grants have made it possible for an additional forty five families to be seen at the Cliff Valley site and for thirty children to receive services in Athens. Since its inception, three years ago, the Athens satellite has been fully funded by the Children's Trust Fund. Beginning this month, Lekotek will once again receive a grant in the amount of $27,000 to fund the new Cobb satellite. It is anticipated that forty families will participate in play sessions at this site by year's end. Members of the Commission are committed to Lekotek's mission, having visited on several occasions to observe play sessions and camp. Without the support of the Trust Fund, the expansion of services mentioned above would be impossible. The new Cobb site is located at 75 and 575 one mile from Barrett Parkway. An Open House is scheduled for October 29th from 4 to 7 PM. We invite parents, donors, professionals and members of the Trust Fund Commission to join us. Software of the Month: Stickybear This friendly bear has been helping children learn preschool skills since the dawn of computers. Stickybear programs have been re-done, expanded and updated since the early days of Apple IIs. And they are valuable additions to any early learning computer software collection. All are available for Macintosh and Windows from Optimum Software at (843) 689-8000 or www.stickybear.com. Stickybear's ABC Deluxe has four separate activities. In Pick It, players click on or type any letter to see an animated scene with an object that begins with that letter. In Write It, children click to see how each letter is printed. In Find It, children click all the pictures that begin with a given letter or type the first letter of the picture. In Say It, they can click any picture to hear its name and initial letter. This program introduces phonics while helping children identify letters and build vocabulary. Stickybear Early Learning has six English and Spanish activities for children ages 2-6. Press any letter to see a word and an animated object appears. In other activities, children can select numbers using the keyboard, mouse, intellikeys or touch window. Additional activities help children learn shapes, colors and opposites. Stickybear Numbers Deluxe English/Spanish has four activities which include number matching, identification, counting and one to one correspondence. Stickybear Opposites Deluxe English/Spanish uses four activities and thirty different animated objects making it possible for children to animate opposites. Stickybear Shapes Deluxe English/Spanish uses four different activities to help children recognize, identify, name and read the words for square, circle, rectangle, etc. This software becomes a simple graphics program as children can create a picture by clicking shapes. Stickybear's Reading Room has four colorful English and Spanish activities for ages 4-8 which include phonics, sentence building and vocabulary development. This program uses a lengthy vocabulary list that is spoken in English or Spanish. In Word Bop, children can hit the space bar or mouse click to "bop" pictures into words and then back into pictures. For a single switch user, this is a great cause and effect activity. As more and more software is developed, don't forget our good friend Stickybear.
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