Today we had our picture taken for the newspaper with all of the tellers at Financial Plus Credit Union. They spent an entire month fund-raising for Jonathan's dog and raised $2,200! They also contacted a local vet- and we have a gift certificate for a year of services and free shots for our dog. Wal-mart kicked in $1,000, bringing the total to a little over 3,200. We are almost half-way there!!!
Wait...this just in...I just answered my door-bell and the student council from Jonathan's school just brought me another donation of $500!
A big THANK YOU goes out to all who have given so much to our family!
Heather
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Bowl-A-Thon Success!
A big thanks to Barb Chesser and everyone who participated in our bowl-a-thon! We had a blast and raised over $700. Jonathan even bowled a couple of frames!
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Fund Raiser Updates!
I don't know where to begin...this journey is so amazing! The conversations that have opened up as a result of people hearing Jonathan's story...the number of times I've been able to talk to people about God moving and the power of prayer...I may never understand why Jonathan has autism, but I feel so fortunate to have had this moment in time to give God glory for all He is doing in our lives!
This weekend my parents and a dear friend of mine held garage sales and raised over $500 dollars for Jonathan-and a little girl sat for hours at a lemonade stand so that she could give $12.25 to him. As my friend gave me the proceeds of the sale, she thanked me with tears running down her face for all I have done to help her family. She has no idea how much that meant to me.
A credit union in town called after hearing about Jonathan and asked if they could do a fund raiser along the lines of "Oprah's Big Give". They have held several raffles, took over Muffy's for a night, and are continuing to contact businesses until the end of this week to see how much they can raise for Jonathan. They were given $100 to start with by the bank president and told to come back with a report of what they did with it by May 23. We are waiting to hear back from a large company to see if we qualify for a grant-all because of the work of the people at this credit union.
Jonathan's school raised $1,500 in one week! Many of the children were bringing in their own money to give to him. Children have huge hearts. I'm blown away by the way they wanted to help Jonathan.
This weekend is our Bowl-a-thon on May 24. Barb has been working hard on it and I'm so excited to go! If you want to attend, contact Barb at mtnester25@sbcglobal.net.
Our auction team is working hard to pull everything together for the big event on June 20. If you need more information or want to put something in the auction...contact Sherry at sharonjoycestevenson@yahoo.com.
Please keep praying. We have faith that God is working-that He know our every need and that He will answer our prayers for Jonathan.
Blessings,
Heather
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Fund Raisers Coming Up!
We have so many people who want to help us raise money for Jonathan's dog!
1. Jonathan's school is currently raising money by having students purchase dog bones to fill up their classroom bowl. The class with the most bones will win a party.
2. There will be a Bowl-a-thon on May 24. $20 to bowl 3 games. Get your team together and sign up! Email me for more infomation!
3. Our church is sponsoring an auction in June. We even have a real autioneer! It will be a lot of fun. We are still looking for all sorts of items to auction off.
4. Some friends and family members are having garage sales and donating the proceeds toward Jonathan's dog.
We are blessed to know all of you! Thank you for walking this journey with us and for showing us so much love and support!
1. Jonathan's school is currently raising money by having students purchase dog bones to fill up their classroom bowl. The class with the most bones will win a party.
2. There will be a Bowl-a-thon on May 24. $20 to bowl 3 games. Get your team together and sign up! Email me for more infomation!
3. Our church is sponsoring an auction in June. We even have a real autioneer! It will be a lot of fun. We are still looking for all sorts of items to auction off.
4. Some friends and family members are having garage sales and donating the proceeds toward Jonathan's dog.
We are blessed to know all of you! Thank you for walking this journey with us and for showing us so much love and support!
Saturday, March 29, 2008
4 Paws For Ability
I can't say enough good things about this organization, or about the incredible journey we are on to get a service dog/companion for Jonathan. The March class recently finished their two-week training in Xenia, OH and put a video together of their children meeting their dogs for the first time. Here's the link...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHgFcBXRsII If this doesn't work, go to You Tube and enter 4 Paws March Madness in the search area.
As far as fund raising for our dog goes...I had a very positive meeting with my pastor (who is completely on board and wishes we could have 4-5 dogs at church!) We are in the process of putting together a 'dream team' to organize an event. The KidStuf group (from church) is sponsoring an auction for us, and Jonathan's school is going to do a couple of fund raisers after Spring Break. We feel very blessed to have such supportive and caring friends!
Heather
As far as fund raising for our dog goes...I had a very positive meeting with my pastor (who is completely on board and wishes we could have 4-5 dogs at church!) We are in the process of putting together a 'dream team' to organize an event. The KidStuf group (from church) is sponsoring an auction for us, and Jonathan's school is going to do a couple of fund raisers after Spring Break. We feel very blessed to have such supportive and caring friends!
Heather
Friday, March 21, 2008
Welcome!
Thank you for visiting our blog for Jonathan! This is my first attempt at blogging...so I'm sure I'll learn a lot as I go.
First of all, I want to thank everyone who has prayed for Jonathan and for our family. God alone continues to provide strength, peace and encouragement as we navigate the world of autism. I am learning that it's okay to let others know we need help. For so long I have seen that as a sign of weakness, but the truth is...we can't do this alone. We need our friends and family.
To catch you up...we found an organization called 4 Paws for Ability that trains autism assistance service dogs for children. We were accepted into their program in February, and are now in the process of raising $13,000 to qualify for a dog for Jonathan. The whole process could take up to a year or more to complete. Once we've reached our total, 4 Paws will train a dog specifically for Jonathan's needs. This dog will accompany Jonathan everywhere, acting as a safety feature. Attached by a special tethered-harness, Jonathan would be unable to run into traffic or get lost. The dog would be trained to comfort Jonathan and interrupt his repetitive autistic behaviors. It would also act as a 'social magnet,' making it easier for other children to approach Jonathan and make friends. Our dog will also be trained in search and rescue to be able to track Jonathan if he gets lost.
We are in the planning stages of several fund raisers. I am looking for items to put in an auction. If you have something to donate, or ideas to share please let me know in the comment section, or e-mail me at noble@mchsi.com. I will post the details as they become available.
Please feel free to ask if you have any questions!
Thank you for taking this journey with us!
Heather
First of all, I want to thank everyone who has prayed for Jonathan and for our family. God alone continues to provide strength, peace and encouragement as we navigate the world of autism. I am learning that it's okay to let others know we need help. For so long I have seen that as a sign of weakness, but the truth is...we can't do this alone. We need our friends and family.
To catch you up...we found an organization called 4 Paws for Ability that trains autism assistance service dogs for children. We were accepted into their program in February, and are now in the process of raising $13,000 to qualify for a dog for Jonathan. The whole process could take up to a year or more to complete. Once we've reached our total, 4 Paws will train a dog specifically for Jonathan's needs. This dog will accompany Jonathan everywhere, acting as a safety feature. Attached by a special tethered-harness, Jonathan would be unable to run into traffic or get lost. The dog would be trained to comfort Jonathan and interrupt his repetitive autistic behaviors. It would also act as a 'social magnet,' making it easier for other children to approach Jonathan and make friends. Our dog will also be trained in search and rescue to be able to track Jonathan if he gets lost.
We are in the planning stages of several fund raisers. I am looking for items to put in an auction. If you have something to donate, or ideas to share please let me know in the comment section, or e-mail me at noble@mchsi.com. I will post the details as they become available.
Please feel free to ask if you have any questions!
Thank you for taking this journey with us!
Heather
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