Light It Up Blue

Every year, I work hard to raise funds for March of Dimes. MoD is a great charity that funds both research on prematurity as well as support for families of premature babies. Anderson was in the NICU for 43 days; Amelia was a 99 day resident. We saw the MoD at work every single day. Last year, we were the 8th highest collecting team in Lexington, which was a fabulous honor and an amazing tribute to your love for our family, and for families everywhere dealing with prematurity.

This year, though, with Anderson's recent ASD diagnosis, we have decided to spread the charitable love. Instead of doing MoD, we are going to participate in April's Autism Awareness Month "Light It Up Blue" fundraiser.  April has been designated the official "Autism Awareness Month". I'm not going to spew statistics here (1:55) because it's all over the place and I know you've heard it before. Autism Speaks is also a great organization that has already provided me with a ton of autism information--I already feel indebted to them. I want to pay it forward by collecting donations for this more-than-worthy cause.

I've set up a fundraising page, just like I've done in the past for MoD. It's an easy donation--you just click the link and follow the directions.  We would be thrilled--absolutely thrilled, and completely grateful--if you'd make a donation in Anderson's (and all kids and families affected by autism) name.  It's actually pretty cool; you can donate in the name of anyone, so if a child with autism has touched your life, feel free to leave a message and share about him/her. I'd love to read them!  We are starting with a goal of $500.00; I'd love to surpass that and reach our yearly total of $1,000 that we usually raise for MoD.

You can visit our page and donate by clicking here.

The other very cool part of this is that, on April 2nd, which is the kick-off to the month-long event, cities all over the world are going to "Light It Up Blue" in support. Buildings will use blue lighting to show their support. We plan to do this here at home with our porch light and a blue light filter--if you are so moved, it would be awesome to see how you light it up, too! Try it yourself, or take pictures of any blue lights you see when you're out and about. Look for those on Tuesday, April 2nd!

Autism is the biggest issue in our life right now. We are learning how to work within and around it, and it is something that is on our minds every single day.  Nothing would mean more to us this month than your show of support for families like ours. Consider donating--as always, donations are tax deductible.  Thanks so much for considering it...

With Love,
Anderson and Family