Shawn & Leslie are members of The Village, our monthly donor community.
Together, they shared with us why they give. Watch them share their story. Or read their interview transcribed below.
We’re parents to two girls, Siana and Selita. And our youngest Selita also happens to be on the autism spectrum.
When Selita was about eight months, she stopped making eye contact. And that was when we had our worries. Shortly after, she was diagnosed with autism.
I remember feeling very, very limited in what we could support her with. But when we learned about CAN and started using the programs, it was a completely different environment for her.
She flourished. She thrived in that environment.
She seems to know the days of the week based on her schedule with CAN. She’ll say, “This is the day that I have sports. This is the day I have gymnastics. This is the day I have swimming.”
Around the time that it’s time to go to class, she’ll say “Gymnastics?”
It’s in her body language and her level of excitement. And the staff at CAN have gotten to know her over the years.
They’ll immediately recognize her and say, “Oh okay, we know Selita likes splashing in the pool.” And they just meet her where she’s at.
Selita has gained so many skills over the years like from riding a bike to just swimming quite independently.
CAN has given her the ability to learn how to swim. And that’s something that maybe other people could take for granted. She’ll tread water for such a long time now, and it’s just amazing. We owe so much of that to CAN.
As parents, when we first heard of CAN, and we started using their resources, one of the biggest things I felt was relief.
Relief knowing that there’s support here that is appropriate for her. Relief knowing that we’ve found a community here.
What would you say to encourage someone to become a monthly donor?
The programs offer so much. And they they’re not run for free. There’s a lot of infrastructure, technology, and trade professionals that are going into the program design, organization, and scheduling.
There are so many things that we don’t think of that make these programs sustainable.
And you want to see where your donation goes, right? It’s very, very evident in the programs that are that are offered.
And whether it’s a few dollars or a few hundred dollars, it all adds up and goes to the right place.
We’ve been donating monthly for such a long time that we don’t think about it anymore. It just becomes part of our monthly budget.
I think having something that CAN can rely on in a sustained and continuous basis really makes a real impact.
And I really encourage other donors who are considering a monthly donation to think of it that way — donating allows you to be a part of the continued delivery of these programs.
Join The Village! Become a monthly donor today.
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