JOIN THE DAILY STRENGTH CHALLENGE

Image via WikipediaThe DAILY STRENGTH Charity Challenge – Raise $1,000 For Your Charity!
FROM DOUG:

The six millionth hug was just sent on Daily Strength, and it got me thinking about what else we can do to make our world a better, healthier place.

Hugs are invaluable, but there’s so much more we can do. Making things happen requires not just love, but also real action and, of course, money.

Recruit new members to your Daily Strength Member Group, and in return we’ll donate up to $1000 to your favorite charity.

Daily Strength Charity Challenge – Basics

1. The challenge is simple - when 25 or more new members join your Member Group, DS donates money to the charity of your choice.

2. If you haven't already done so, join or create a group on Daily Strength - http://dailystrength.org/groups/. Creating a group is completely free. Existing groups are also eligible. The subject of your group is up to you; we hope you’ll choose something near and dear to your heart – a walk-a-thon, a group to raise awareness, or just a safe haven.

3. Spread the word! Get others to join you in your crusade. Get more tips on how to spread the word here.

4. The challenge starts on Thursday, April 24th, 2008 and ends on Friday, May 23rd.

5. At the end of the Challenge, Daily Strength will contact qualifying group founders to find out about the charity that you would like to support.

Please Note: "New Members" are members that did not have an account at Daily Strength prior to April 24th, 2008. Existing Daily Strength members are welcome to join these groups, but we will only count new members for this challenge.

This is your chance to really help a charity you care about without using any of your own money. At the same time, your friends can become a part of your Group and the Daily Strength community.

Please read more below and visit our official Daily Strength Charity Challenge Group for complete details on the challenge. And then get out there and make a difference!

Official Rules, Tips & Tools

Stop by and read or join the Daily Strength Charity Challenge Group where we'll have the official rules, answer questions, offer tips, and give contest updates.

We can't wait to see what our Member Groups can accomplish, and how many great charities we can help!

Happy Spring from all of us here at Daily Strength!

Sign Up for Powerful Intentions - Powerful Intentions

Sign Up for Powerful Intentions - Powerful IntentionsIF SUPPORT IS WHAT YOU NEED WE ARE A COMMUNITY OF DOERS AND YOU WILL FIND WHAT YOU NEED HERE. IF YOU DON'T SEE IT ASK FOR IT. "WYSIWYG" WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET, AND IT IS GREAT!

Fwd: Help Us Improve Supportive Housing!

Help Us Improve Supportive Housing!

April 25, 2008

HR 5772 Proposes Innovative Section 811 Demonstration Program and Includes Long Overdue Reforms to Existing Section 811 Program

NAMI and our colleague disability advocacy organizations in the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Housing Task Force (CCD Housing Task Force) and the Technical Assistance Collaborative (TAC) are pleased to announce that important legislation to spur investment in permanent supportive housing has been introduced in Congress.  The bill, known as the Frank Melville Supportive Housing Investment Act of 2008 (HR 5772), was introduced by Congressman Chris Murphy (D- CT) and Congresswoman Judy Biggert (R – IL).  The bill is named in honor of the late Frank Melville, a longtime member of NAMI Connecticut, and the first board President of the Melville Charitable Trust – a leading force in promoting supportive housing for people with severe disabilities.

This ground-breaking legislation proposes important and significant changes and improvements to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities program.  The bill would authorize a new Section 811 Demonstration Program that fulfills the promise of true community integration as envisioned in the Americans with Disabilities Act, and would enact long over-due reforms and improvements to the existing Section 811 production program essential for the program's long-term viability. These changes will provide states and localities with a new infusion of critically needed Section 811 capital and project-based rent subsidy funding to produce more permanent supported housing.

Act Now!

Contact Congress today and urge your House member to cosponsor HR 5772.  Help us address the enormous housing crisis faced by millions of extremely low income people with disabilities.

Learn More

View NAMI National's letter of support for HR 5772. Read background information on HR 5772.

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NAMI E-News Alerts are electronic newsletters provided free of charge as a public service. With more than 1,100 state and local affiliates, NAMI is the nation's largest grassroots organization dedicated to improving the lives of people with severe mental illnesses. Contributions to support our work can be made online.

If you do not wish to receive further E-News Alerts, please click here, sign in and uncheck the box next to E-News. If you have any questions, concerns, or comments, please send an email to enews@nami.org.

WHAT IS DID?

Herschel Walker has DID. Therese Borchard has an article on Herschel Walker and his experience with DID. She relates an article written by Miriam Falco with CNN. She adds a little humor to the article but the idea that someone actually has multiple personalities is so far from the realm of humanity. That anyone has to live in the world without having a proper grip on their mind. The mind being the most powerful organ in our body, "rules the roost", so to speak. It is in charge if we let it. This is one reason why so many are attempting to gain control of their mind by using meditation and as Eckhart Tolle calls it "quieting the mind". The experience of meditation is the most effective way to find the voice "within". What is referred to as the higher power, the universe, God.

EUREEKA!

Image via WikipediaHouse Passes Medicaid Moratoria!

April 24, 2008

On April 23, by a vote of 349-62, the U.S. House passed legislation to halt regulations that would undermine Medicaid financing of critical mental health services. This is an important victory for people with mental illnesses, and NAMI thanks all of our grassroots advocates for their efforts in support of this legislation!

ACT NOW!

Please find out how your Representative voted, and contact him or her regarding the vote. NAMI thanks the members of Congress who voted in favor of this legislation.

NAMI E-News Alerts are electronic newsletters provided free of charge as a public service. With more than 1,100 state and local affiliates, NAMI is the nation's largest grassroots organization dedicated to improving the lives of people with severe mental illnesses. Contributions to support our work can be made online.

If you do not wish to receive further E-News Alerts, please click here, sign in and uncheck the box next to E-News. If you have any questions, concerns, or comments, please send an email to enews@nami.org.

Write. Edit. Repeat.: An Interview with Autism Activist Mika Bradford

Image via Wikipedia
Write. Edit. Repeat.: An Interview with Autism Activist Mika Bradford
This is a great article that most will want to read.

SPEAK OUT!

Image via WikipediaSPEAKOUT'S TUMBLE LOG
THERE ARE SOME GOOD RESOURCES HERE!
Parents of Autistic children experience enough without having to fight their own battles for services as well. It is time that they were heard, that is why it is really important to get the word out and keep it there. There are a lot of proposals waiting for legislation, (what's new) and every chance we get we should send a message to our legislators to let them know more resources are needed for these families.

Long before anything, we have to learn to accept this children as the blessings that they are. Every child Autistic or not has a gift that God gives them to share with us. We should all be learning what the gifts our children give us are...hmmm

CELEBRITY GOLF CHALLENGE FOR AUTISM!

Image via WikipediaAutism Speaks LA Celebrity Golf Challenge celebrated its fifth anniversary with a great day of golf and California sun set against the beautiful backdrop of the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades. Raising over $360,000, golfers hit the course with celebrity players that included, actors Brett Cullen; Clint Howard; Dennis Haysbert; Bubba Lewis; Joe Mantegna; Jack McGee; Ron Masak; Ron Perlman; Richard Schiff and John Schneider; comedian Gary Cannon; rocker Alice Cooper; Olympic gold medalist Bruce Jenner; singers Drew Lachey and
See highlights from the LA Celebrity

The day's activities included exciting course contests, the Wachovia Million Dollar Shootout and a celebrity putting contest with Alice Cooper and Dennis Haysbert. The evening dinner reception included a silent and live auction and a dinner program that included remarks from event co-chair and Autism Speaks board member Kevin Murray, Autism Speaks co-founders Suzanne and Bob Wright, and Dale Rodberg, event co-chair. Joe Mantegna, a longtime supporter of the event, served as the co-auctioneer for the live auction alongside Kevin Murray and Bob Wright.

Golf Challenge
YouTube Video ~ 1 minute
Nick Lachey; former NFL stars Ken O'Brien and Jason Sehorn; professional beach volleyball player Randy Stoklos; and actress Paula Trickey.

CARLY'S WRITINGS

Image via WikipediaThere is beautiful story about a 13 year old Autistic girl that was on The Ellen DeGeneres Show this week. After her appearance on the show she left a letter for Ellen and asker her (Ellen) to read the message on the show to her mother. She asked Ellen to let her mother(Carly's) how much she loved her, because it has been too very difficult to express that to her. It is a beautiful story. It is a conversation she has with her Speech Therapist.

Blogging for Autism needs to include this young girl and her personal relationship with Autism. The world that she lives in is not something someone, other than an Autistic person (or child)can relate to another. No one can walk in her shoes. But please read her words!

TAKE ACTION

Image via WikipediaHouse Panel Approves Moratoria on Medicaid Regulations!

April 11, 2008

Efforts in Congress to halt regulations that would undermine Medicaid financing of critical mental health services are moving forward. On April 9, an important House Subcommittee approved legislation (HR 5613) to impose moratoria on 7 separate Medicaid regulations. These regulations would severely hamper the ability of states to invest in services critical to the needs of people with serious mental illness. The bill would prevent these regulations from going into effect until April 1, 2009, when a new Administration will be in office.

A broader Senate companion bill to HR 5613 has been introduced by Senators Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA). Their bill (S 2819) combines moratoria on all 7 regulations with $12 billion in fiscal relief for the states to deal with revenue shortfalls related to the current crises in the mortgage and credit markets. This includes a temporary across-the-board increase in each state’s Medicaid match rate.

ACT NOW!

NAMI supports the efforts in both the House and the Senate. Email Congress now and urge support of these bills. Urge your House member to support HR 5613 and efforts to stop regulations that would devastate funding for critical services for Medicaid beneficiaries with serious mental illness. Tell your Senators to support S 2819, which is an important step in preventing cuts to Medicaid at the state level.

WHAT A GIFT!

If you need inspirati today to motivate you to blog for Autism, watch this movie to the very end. I promise you, you will find laughter and joy in it. Then do what the movie says "PASS IT ON" click to start.

TELETUBBIES ARE SPEAKING FOR AUTISM!

Image via WikipediaAutism Speaks has the support of Bachman Pretzels in a unique way:
Puzzle Pretzels Hit the Shelves
The Bachman Company debuted its Puzzle Pretzel, baked in the shape of the Autism Speaks puzzle piece logo, to steady requests from around the country. It is available in grocery stores in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions as well as online. Five percent of the proceeds from the sale of the Puzzle Pretzel will be donated to Autism Speaks.

They are also sponsoring a walk for autism:
Visit our 2008 Walk Now for Autism Calendar for an event near you

Autism Speaks' Walk Now for Autism, the nation's largest grassroots autism walk program, is our signature fundraising and awareness event, taking place in communities across the United States, as well as in Canada and the United Kingdom.
Powered by volunteers and families with loved ones on the autism spectrum, this successful grassroots fundraising effort not only generates vital funds for autism research but also raises awareness about the increasing prevalence of autism and the need for increased research funding to combat this complex disorder.

Everyone is sending support in ways that are unique and different to themselves, one clever mom or family friends has put the Teletubbies to work for Autism with "Teletubbies Favorite Things & videos" Here is one
...they never get old..so cute...


The Official Autism Speaks You Tube Channel has some great videos

THE NEWS FROM SOOZ

Image via WikipediaI found this cute site today. Another Mom blogging for Autism. She starts out with a recommendation for Jenny Mccarthy's book. Check it out she has a cute You tube video on there also.

There is also another op-ed piece by Jenny McCarthy on this Mom's site

Look for super resources here:
2008 International Autism Symposium program announced in celebration of first World Autism Day

SSSHHHH, HE'S SLEEPING!

Image via WikipediaBelow are some resources that are featured on The Beliefnet Community. I find a great deal of solace from this community and I hope sharing these articles will help someone to find the solace that I do. This is a site with resources for everything life has to offer, even those you hope to never run into. It is a great community with a big heart, just waiting to take you into their comfort zone.

On the Autism Warpath
When her son received an autism diagnosis, actress Jenny McCarthy went into 'warrior mode' to save her child--and other kids. Interview by Dilshad D. Ali

Life With Autism: Faith Keeps Us Going
Learning that your child has autism, a diagnosis that is growing more common these days, is one of the most devastating experiences a family can have. Parents rely on many things to maintain a healthy family life while helping their child fight the disorder. This photo gallery chronicles our family's efforts to take our son's distressing diagnosis of autism and channel it into a fulfilling, happy, and spiritual life for all of us.

ANCIENT FAITH, MODERN LIFE

BY Frederica Mathewes-Green
Ring of Silence
The only way I may completely connect with my autistic grandson is through God.

WEIGH IN WITH YOUR OPINION!

Image via WikipediaThis is an interesting aspect. Not knowing enough about Autism leaves me wondering. Is this a new approach or has it been around awhile? Is it a solution? Weigh in with your opinion, please. The more we are educated the more support we can offer.

This being Autism Awareness month it would be great to have some Mom's or Dad's that are living with Autism weigh in on here. Leave your opinion or start a discussion.

RESOURCES FOR POOR VISION OR BLINDNESS

There are a great many resources at the American Foundation For The Blind.
If you, or someone you know needs help with poor vision or blindness, pass this web site information onto them. You can also sign up for updates and their newsletter.

Remember to keep blogging for Autism.

THIS BEARS REPEATING!

This is a post from the Autism Speaks Forum that I think provides information and suggests ways to get the word out about Autsim Month:

"Spread the word: Chevrolet has teamed up with Autism Speaks to drive home the message of autism awareness. During April – Autism Awareness Month – visitors to the Autism Speaks website (www.autismspeaks.org), can click on the “Help Chevy Help Autism” icon and take a virtual test drive of the 2008 North American Car of the Year – the all-new Chevy Malibu. Chevrolet has committed to a minimum contribution of $500,000, but every virtual test drive taken gets Chevrolet closer to its goal of donating up to $1 million to Autism Speaks to support its mission of increasing awareness of autism and raising money to fund autism research. Those who complete the virtual test drive will receive a free 30-day online trial of XM Satellite Radio. Read more and visit the Autism Speaks home page to take the virtual test drive.

QUICK AND EASY WAYS TO SPREAD THE WORD:
1. Add the link to your e-mail signature.
2. E-mail everyone in your address book about the promotion and encourage them to do the same.
3. Post it on your MySpace/Facebook page.
4. Post it on your blog, and encourage those who have blogs to do the same.

We need as many people as possible to view the video PRIOR to April 30. Please watch the video and spread the word."

"I think this world is perfect...": Fantasy, Meet Reality

"I think this world is perfect...": Fantasy, Meet Reality
Love what you've done with the place, hope you don't mind a quick visit now and then.
I'm trying to spread the word to blog for Autism, can you give it a try. check it our on my site

THE SECOND DAY!

I have read many blogs this week where families share their experiences in different mediums, visual through video, images, photo albums, music and text, and in all of them the labels are the same from the viewpoint of the parents. (This is only my perception). I believe that the parents of Autistic children have far more fortitude than the average parent, and I know within... that is a truthful perception. When we all finally learn to turn off the labels and quiet our mind to the thoughts of others and their viewpoints about Autism, Aspergers, minorities, religious groups, cultures, ethnic backgrounds and whatever differences have always been recognized to define us; we will have released ourselves from the huge burden that we carry. The result of cultures before us, carried and released during our child rearing years, mixed in the plethora of methods, that we as parents, have taken as truth, from our own parents, and further back as many generations as man has existed. I may have stretched that a bit, but I do believe that the limitations we have set on ourselves and then on our children are carried on from generations of parents just like us, even under different circumstances, but in the same role.

I saw something this week that opened my eyes to the miracles of nature and science as ONE.



We have to learn to shift our consciousness where we can release ourselves from the limitations we have been trapped in and by doing so, show our children the freedom to be who they have been born as, before we affect their within.

Autism should continually be researched to find under "new age" radical discoveries, that miracles exist in every human being, and begin to find the beauty in Autistic children because, each carries with them the ability to not define others as they are defined.

Make a choice to watch it, read it or live it…but at least try it, and remember this:
THE SECRET

Thoughts do become things.
There are no coincidences.
Miracles are all around us.
Ask, Believe and you will receive.
It all begins with baby steps.

A JOURNEY TO BLUE EYES!

I've been on a journey tonight collecting resources. What a journey, I have been to a good many web sites and forums that offer support for Autism. I am collecting information that may be repetitive with other sites but I just want to cover as many bases as I can.

Video on Autism "What Kind of World Do you want."
You’re not alone.
These are two beautiful twin boys and it tells the story of how the parents learned about Autism in one of the boys.

This is an awesome Forum with lots of available resources also. There is a promotion going on with Chevrolet. If you test drive a Malibu they will donate to the cause. I'll give you their info because it has the links already embedded:

Spread the word: Chevrolet has teamed up with Autism Speaks to drive home the message of autism awareness. During April – Autism Awareness Month – visitors to the Autism Speaks website (www.autismspeaks.org), can click on the “Help Chevy Help Autism” icon and take a virtual test drive of the 2008 North American Car of the Year – the all-new Chevy Malibu. Chevrolet has committed to a minimum contribution of $500,000, but every virtual test drive taken gets Chevrolet closer to its goal of donating up to $1 million to Autism Speaks to support its mission of increasing awareness of autism and raising money to fund autism research. Those who complete the virtual test drive will receive a free 30-day online trial of XM Satellite Radio. Read more and visit the Autism Speaks home page to take the virtual test drive.

Help Raise Money for Autism by visiting the Ecommerce Store
Sign up for the e-Speaks Newsletter

Check back tomorrow for some legislative resources.

GOD WILL ANSWER MY PRAYER!

From Oprah’s mission statement 04-01-2008

"Without loving and caring for others, most of us stand little chance of
communing with God, no matter how many years we may spend in silent prayer."
Bo Lozoff

The average person may read this and think “Finally, I have found a way to make my dreams come true, all I have to do is help a few people and then GOD WILL ANSWER MY PRAYER” And then, when their dreams still don’t come true, the first thing they do is turn on God. Seriously, I know people just like this, they lament all the time about how much they do for others and then when they need something it’s not there. Hello…it says “loving and caring”, that is a continuous state of being. That does not mean when you took care of your neighbor’s dog while they went away…It means service for God. Doing for others should be a priority. Of course, you do for your family everyday, I know… we all do that, but that is a choice we make when we choose to have a family. Loving and caring for others is a lot broader than that, it is the essence of you. It becomes you, it is you, and it is just a thought in your mind that gets it going, that shifts your consciousness enough, to move in the direction of those IN NEED.

Loving and caring for others can come in many different ways, it can come by joining service with others to help others, it can come by giving a neighbor a break once a week when they need respite from the kids, the issues of their home life, or just because you love them. It should be innate in all of us, and it probably was, until our parents decided to interfere with nature, as did their parents. We are born without sin, with the essence of God himself, and we learned to shed that as the years went by, learning things the old way. It is time we teach our children the “new” way by setting an example. Set an example of loving and caring for others. Show our children that the true essence of God is in all of us and we should be standing up to the plate every chance we get.

If you want to see the true essence of God then you should visit this blog and join in service to help with this undertaking. Some of the most amazing Moms I have ever seen are part of this giant undertaking and they can use all the help they can get. They can use others blogging for Autism for the month of April, they can use new resources and people to spread the word. Whatever you have to offer, share it here or there, but share it, make a commitment to shift your consciousness for others and then sit and wait…. for the within to answer the call. Stop waiting for what God is going to reward you with, learn selflessness, learn humility and put them to work in the service of causes that need you. There is something for everyone to do in almost every experience we have. There are millions of people, some without homes, food, clothing, shelter and love…help them without expecting reward. You already have the reward, it is in your heart, be grateful for it every morning and every night, everyday.

Make a choice to watch it, read it or live it…but at least try it, and remember this:
THE SECRET

Thoughts do become things.
There are no coincidences.
Miracles are all around us.
Ask, Believe and you will receive.
It all begins with baby steps.