Sean’s Dad’s Birthday

Send Bill McKibben A Happy Birthday Note on 9/27!!!

This is for Bill from Seaner!

Change the World Views

Sean Changed the view of the world for many!!!  

Pay It Forward

4 Reasons to Celebrate this Week

We have so many things to celebrate:

National Courtesy Month;  A bit of kindness can change a life…it can even save a life

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACOB;  Jacob was Seaner’s best friend and president of our foundation

        

     

Patriot Day:Where were you on 9/11/01?

National Grandparents Day: Give Hug to a Grandparent!!!!

Happy Labor Day

Happy Birthday to Seaner’s Mom

September 1^st is my (Seaner’s Mom) birthday; Bring a smile to someone this week!!!

School Starting – Prevent Bullying

Violence Committed Against Persons with Disabilities

PLEASE READ ALL 10 OF THESE FACTS – THEY CHANGED MY LIFE

Violence committed against persons with disabilities is a frequently unrecognized and under-reported problem that has reached epidemic proportions in the United States as reflected in the following statistics:

1. There are 54 million Americans with disabilities (U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Crime Victim Bulletin, 1998)
2. According to one study in 2000, approximately five (5) million crimes were committed against persons with developmental disabilities in comparison to 1.4 million child abuse cases and one (1) million elder abuse cases. (From Joan Petersilia, Ph.D., When Justice Sleeps: Violence and Abuse Against the Developmentally Disabled.)
3. More than ninety percent (90%) of people (both male and female) with developmental disabilities will experience sexual abuse at some point in their lives. Forty-nine percent (49%) will experience ten or more abuse incidents. (Valenti-Hein, D. & Schwartz, L. (1995). The Sexual Abuse Interview for Those with Developmental Disabilities. James Stanfield Company. Santa Barbara: California)
4. A study of psychiatric inpatients found that eighty-one percent (81%) had been physically or sexually assaulted. (From Jacobson & Richardson, American Journal of Psychiatry, 1987)
5. Sixty-two percent (62%) of women with physical disabilities reported experiencing emotional, physical or sexual abuse. (From Nosek & Howland, 1998)
6. Only three percent (3%) of sexual abuse cases involving people with developmental disabilities will ever be reported. (From Valenti-Hein, D. & Schwartz, L. (1995), The Sexual Abuse Interview for Those with Developmental Disabilities. California: James Stanfield Company.)
7. Adults with developmental disabilities are at risk of being physically or sexually assaulted at rates four to ten times greater than other adults. (From Sobsey, Dick (1994). Violence and Abuse in the Lives of People with Disabilities The End of Silent Acceptance? Maryland: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Company.)
8. Sixty-eight (68) to eighty-three (83) percent of women with developmental disabilities will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime, which represents a 50 percent higher rate than the rest of the population (Pease & Franz 1994, Warick, Jason (1997).
9. The violence that women with disabilities experience includes verbal abuse, forced segregation, intimidation, abandonment and neglect, withholding of medications, transportation, equipment and personal assistance services and physical and sexual violence (Matsuda, 1996).
10. Women with disabilities are raped, assaulted and abused at rates more than two times greater than women without disabilities.

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I was looking for inspirational videos and this one made me do the happy cry!

Our Second Gala

Our Second gala brought great concern for me and I think it will continue to concern me for quite some time.  That is will anyone show up?  Seaner has been gone for 1 ½ years, I wondered if I am the only one that remembers him and if everyone else has forgotten about him? 

We again were blessed with wonderful attendance.  Kara blew it out of the park when it came to auction items with over 80 items.  We had a wonderful choir (Sound Reach Choir) perform that was composed of God’s special adults and Miss Amazing Iowa winners helping everyone feel welcome.  

Drew Brown who was the SMILE award winner for 2015 presented Ryan Van Hooser the 2016 SMILE award and his acceptance speech was the hit of the night.  Again we were blessed with donations beyond our beliefs.

Happy Parents Day