Muffi Lavigne

Thanks to The Eric Fund, Rockville, Maryland, resident Margaret “Muffi” Lavigne  will get the equipment she needs to help her take photographs for her graduate school portfolio as well as help her with everyday needs in her apartment.  

Muffi is applying to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaigne’s Master in Architecture program for Fall 2004, to study interior design.  Part of her application includes an artistic portfolio, in which she wanted to feature her photography. Muffi has been an avid photographer, but her disability – Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy, a progressive muscle disease affecting her arms, legs and hips – has progressed to the point where she is no longer able to hold a camera on her own. She uses a power wheelchair and has service dog, “Rudy.”  In addition, Muffi requires a personal care attendant, physical therapists and many other services to help her lead an independent life. The costs of these services, despite her working full time, leave little for her to purchase the necessary equipment for her to further her education and career goals. 

The Eric Fund is providing Muffi with a clamp and swing arm to help secure her camera for picture taking and allow her to complete her portfolio for her Master’s program application.  She is also receiving a wall switch extender and a lamp converter to help her reach for switches and lamps in her home. Muffi has been working for many years as the Information and Referral Coordinator at United Cerebral Palsy’s national headquarters in Washington, DC, where our Fund’s namesake, Eric Savader, once worked.