Recent photo of recipient Jonathan Tower enjoying his adaptive bicycle provided by the Eric Fund.
The Eric Fund is honored each year to help incredible children and adults with disabilities maximize their potential and live their dreams
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Two decades ago, The Eric Fund was launched to honor a young man who dedicated the last years of his short life to helping people with disabilities. Today, The Eric Fund is stronger than ever thanks to you, the fund’s generous supporters. With this year’s recipients, you will have assisted 88 people with $191,000 worth of assistive equipment in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area.
This year we are providing two power wheelchairs, special face recognition glasses, an adaptive iPad with special apps and a voice device. We are also replacing a broken iPad for a previous recipient.
Our mission continues to be to level the playing field for people with disabilities, providing equipment that will provide opportunity for greater independence in their daily lives. The Eric Fund steps in to help when applicants have exhausted every other means to obtain these essential devices, whether through insurance, their workplace, school or family resources. And we see the impact of these awards reach beyond the applicants, to their families, fellow students, friends, teachers and workplace colleagues.
We are deeply grateful for your generous contributions that make life-changing devices possible for adults and children in our community. Nineteen years ago, we had one recipient and our newsletter was one page long. Today, 88 recipients later and approaching $200,000 in donated equipment, we are the same small band of volunteers committed as ever to The Eric Fund mission. We hope you will continue to support the work of The Eric Fund and share our story with your friends and family.
We are excited to be sharing our 20th anniversary celebration with you in 2018!
Sincerely,
President
As you can imagine, narrowing the application pool down was difficult, and left many very worthy candidates without the funding they need to lead independent lives in the community. Your generous donations will help us continue to change lives, by putting equipment in the hands of people who desperately need it. Help us expand our reach. More donations means more grants and fewer people we need to turn away each year. We will continue to put every dollar to work!
As The Eric Fund begins its 20th year of providing assistive devices to people with disabilities, we are thrilled that this has been the most generous year of giving yet. Because of your generosity, we are able to provide six deserving people – James, Francis, Carolena, Roxie, Emilia and Alana – with equipment that will allow them to live more independent lives.
The Eric Fund is a Washington-based nonprofit organization that purchases needed but often expensive assistive technology that helps children and adults with disabilities live on their own terms in their communities. “2017 saw more than $21,000 worth of equipment purchased and delivered. The technology and devices are vital in the efforts to live more independent lives for our applicants. By supporting The Eric Fund mission, our supporters are making a significant difference in the lives of people with disabilities in the Washington, DC, area,” said Mary Hanley, president of The Eric Fund.
Founded in 1998, The Eric Fund’s mission is inspired by the memory of Eric Savader who died from cancer in 1997 and who worked on behalf of several disability causes. Over the past 19 years, The Eric Fund has assisted 88 people by granting $191,000 worth of equipment and technology.
Please read on to hear the compelling stories of the 2017 Eric Fund award recipients and those of some of our past awardees.
Eight-year-old Emilia is now riding in style in Northern Virginia with a new wheelchair and car seat from The Eric Fund. Emilia, who has cerebral palsy, epilepsy, as well as physical and intellectual disabilities, outgrew her adaptive stroller to the point it was negatively impacting her positioning and posture. Emilia’s parents did not have the financial means to afford the necessary equipment for Emilia and turned to The Eric Fund for help.
The Eric Fund purchased for Carolena an Orcam MyEye, a special camera device that mounts on glasses and acts as a visual aid for people with low vision. The MyEye’s facial recognition software can be programmed to recognize a number of people. When the camera sees a familiar face, it will speak the person’s identity into an earpiece Carolena wears
Francis Dwyer is a 27-year-old young man living with Downs Syndrome, who has already reached many milestones in his quest to live as independently in his community as he possibly can.
When Alana was born she was diagnosed with Opercular Syndrome (also known as Foix-Chavany Marie Syndrome), a paralysis of the facial and laryngeal muscles (among others). As a result of this condition, Alana is unable to speak verbally. The Eric Fund awarded Alana with an iPad, that she will use as a communication device both at home and at school so that she can better interact and communicate with her family, friends and classmates.
James was nominated for The Eric Fund grant by his speech-language pathologist, who believed that the Accent 1000 – an augmentative communication device manufactured by the Prentke Romich Company – used with the LAMP Words for Life language system would help reduce James’s frustration and support additional language learning. Using the app with the Accent 1000 would give James a way to communicate in all settings throughout his day, improve his social connections, learning opportunities, and ability to express his wants and needs.
This year, Roxie finally received the wheelchair she had been waiting for, thanks to help from The Eric Fund, which paid the copay for Roxie’s new power wheelchair.
As The Eric Fund begins its 20th year of providing assistive devices to people with disabilities, we are thrilled that this has been the most generous year of giving yet. Because of your generosity, we are able to provide six deserving people – James, Francis, Carolena, Roxie, Emilia and Alana – with equipment that will allow them to live more independent lives.
On May 1, 2017, supporters of The Eric Fund joined the board for a fundraiser and silent auction at Nellie’s Sports Bar in Washington, DC. It was a lively and fun event, with the fabulous Ms. Ba’Naka serving as our engaging and entertaining Master of Ceremonies. With the impressive turnout and numerous exciting silent auction items, The Eric Fund raised $19,000, our most successful fundraiser to date! We are pleased to be able to use the funds raised to purchase critical assistive technology devices for people with disabilities in the metro Washington, DC, area. A special focus of the evening was on raising funds for 14-year-old James who, due to the generosity of our guests, has now received a very essential voice device that is helping to improve his communication and quality of life.
The Eric Fund is honored each year to help incredible children and adults with disabilities maximize their potential and live their dreams. Here is an update on some of our past winners.
Jonathan Tower is a 10-year-old boy from Woodbridge, VA, who has autism, developmental delays and hypotonia, a neurological condition that affects his muscles. In 2016, The Eric Fund provided Jonathan with an adaptive bicycle with a motor that allows him to enjoy one of his favorite activities and accompany his family and friends on cycling trips. Now, the family no longer has to leave Jonathan behind on their outdoor adventures. His mom, Heather - says Jonathan loves the feeling of air in his face and “hand surfing” in the wind when they cruise the local bike trails. Jonathan has also made great strides improving his communication skills which have allowed the family to get to know him better. Heather wants Eric Fund supporters “to know that they have made a difference in the lives of four people who truly appreciate this opportunity that has been gifted to us.”
Max Smith-Levin, a 12-year-old boy, from Warrenton, VA, has autism and is blind. Last year, The Eric Fund provided Max with a Refreshabraille 18 and an iPad to help improve his learning skills. The Refreshabraille 18 is a unique handheld braille display with a braille keyboard for desktop computers and mobile devices. Max’s mom, Jennie, told us that Max uses his new iPad daily. He is learning to play games designed to teach children without sight to use the iPad and is learning to gain access to information he wants without adult instructions. With his new devices, Max is learning to manage his anxiety and behavioral issues that have been a barrier to his learning progress. Max’s mom and dad are hopeful that his new technology will allow him to move more efficiently through his school day and meet new academic challenges as a middle schooler. They are also delighted that music remains Max’s primary joy in life. He plays piano every day and now allows others to play duets with him, which is a new skill for Max. His mom says they take the piano almost everywhere they go. The family expressed their thanks to The Eric Fund for supporting Max’s development toward greater independence.
Marshall Williams is a 22-year-old young man from Fairfax Station, VA, who has a brain injury, cerebral palsy, epilepsy and hydrocephalus. In 2016, The Eric Fund purchased an iPad with a stand and adaptive applications to help Marshall communicate more effectively. His dad, Chris, reports that Marshall uses the iPad extensively every day as an assistive technology device for help in planning and chronicling his daily activities, reminders of chores and for social interactions. It’s made it much easier for him to communicate with his friends and family. The iPad has also been incorporated into Marshall’s physical and occupation therapies. His dad tells us Marshall “loves the iPad” and says he is now attending a day program run by the Brain Injury Service group -- and takes his iPad with him to help plan his day and make notes so he can recall what he did and share his activities with others. “We always knew assistive technology would be extremely important for Marshall – and the iPad has been a huge benefit to him. Thanks again to The Eric Fund!”
As you can imagine, narrowing the application pool down was difficult, and left many very worthy candidates without the funding they need to lead independent lives in the community. Your generous donations will help us continue to change lives, by putting equipment in the hands of people who desperately need it. Help us expand our reach. More donations means more grants and fewer people we need to turn away each year. We will continue to put every dollar to work!
