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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Like everyone else, The Eric Fund has been challenged by the demands of COVID-19 and we can see that its restrictions exact an even greater price on people with disabilities. Although we had to cancel our spring reception and silent auction, your past generosity left us with enough in reserves to fund seven more worthy applicants in the Washington metropolitan area with assistive technology that will bring greater independence to their lives.
This year’s recipients bring the total in our 22-year history to 108 individuals who have received equipment that is often life-changing for them and their families. Each of the 2020 recipients requested and will receive iPads that will enable them to better communicate with their friends, family, in school and in the work- place. In several cases, specialized software will allow their specific needs to be met and they all will receive an Apple warranty.
Our mission for more than two decades is to level the playing field for people with disabilities by providing assistive technology that enables them to achieve great independence in their daily lives. The Eric Fund steps in to help when applicants have exhausted every other avenue of support, whether through insurance, school or personal resources. The impact of these awards reaches beyond the individuals to their family, friends, teachers, colleagues and the community.
We remain the same small band of volunteers committed to a mission inspired by Eric Savader, an advocate for people with disabilities who died of cancer in 1997. We hope you will continue to support our efforts and will look forward to the day when we can get together with you again in person. Please be safe, stay healthy, and enjoy the holidays as much as possible!
Sincerely,
President
Despite the fundraising challenges that COVID-19 has presented this year, The Eric Fund is happy to be able to provide much-needed assistance to people in the Washington-DC area community whose needs are greater than ever during a time when so many of us are isolated and the threat of a spreading virus is a global concern. With a variety of communication, cognitive and physical disabilities, all seven of our recipients will receive iPads, some accompanied by special software to accommodate their specific needs.
Although cancellation of our fundraiser and auction in the spring due to the pandemic represented a significant loss of income for The Eric Fund, your past generosity left us with enough in reserve to make this our 22nd year of giving. “With your continuing help, we will be able to make these life-changing contributions to many deserving people in the future so that they can live more independent lives,” said Mary Hanley, president of The Eric Fund. “We remain enormously grateful for your support and hope it’s not long before we can meet and celebrate in person again.”
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.
Please read on and be amazed by the compelling stories of the 2020 Eric Fund award recipients as well as some of our past awardees you have supported.
Nick and his family have tried several times to get him an iPad to better communicate, but each time, they hit a brick wall with the insurance company who refused to fund it. They denied the essential equipment “because he can play games on it,” his mother said. So when Nick learned he was receiving an iPad, keyboard and case from The Eric Fund, he spelled out on his laminate letter board: “I am very excited and grateful!”
Caroline can’t wait to get started creating new art with the iPad, keyboard, pencil and case she received from The Eric Fund. Caroline is a 27-year-old artist and graphic designer with cerebral palsy who has her own design business and creates original artwork on the computer that she sells at art shows, craft fairs and on her website: www.labradorabledesigns.com
The Eric Fund purchased an iPad for Leticia to stay on top of bill paying, keep up with daily activities, medical care and case workers she coordinates with, including those that have moved their services to apps and online platforms for transmitting information and communication.
Carvel is a 17-year-old teen with autism, sensory processing and verbal expression challenges. An evaluation showed Carvel would benefit from an iPad for word recall and putting sentences together to increase his communication ability. He currently communicates using two-to three-word phrases, but the iPad will help open Carvel’s world. Carvel’s mom, a single mom raising five children, shared that Carvel also wants to be social but needs technology to assist him in communicating and being independent. She added that the iPad will help her son immensely.
Ibem is a 30-year-old man with developmental and cognitive disabilities, short-term memory challenges, as well as executive functioning and auditory processing conditions. Ibem’s evaluation showed an iPad would be a good fit for him. The iPad he received from The Eric Fund will help him better communicate, organize himself, and use assistive technology as he actively looks for supported employment.
Garvin is an 18-year-old young man with intellectual disabilities, speech & language challenges and other health issues. He was evaluated for an iPad and was shown to have success with it. Assistive technology like an iPad will help Garvin in school and in the community. The iPad he received from The Eric Fund will help him with reminders, visual reminders, cueing and note taking.
As The Eric Fund completes its 22nd year of providing assistive devices to people with disabilities, we are thrilled by the meaningful impact of your generous donations. Because of your generosity, we are able to provide nine deserving people with equipment that will allow them to live more independent lives.
You can purchase original artwork from our 2020 award winner Caroline through her online shop: www.labradorabledesigns.com
Dogs and animals including horses, birds and other wildlife are the focus of Caroline’s beautiful work. She previously created her art drawing with her finger on the track pad of her computer, but is excited to use the new iPad and Apple pencil she received from The Eric Fund to create her art directly on the screen. She has original artwork or you can hire her to create a custom piece for you or someone you love!
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.
Although the school year has been challenging for 6-year-old Jacob who doesn’t understand why he can’t see his beloved classmates in person, the iPad that The Eric Fund purchased for him in 2019 with applications customized for his communication and specific needs has become “a powerful tool in making this school year a success,” according to his mom. Jacob has a genetic disease that causes benign tumors to grow throughout his organs causing epilepsy and developmental delays including speech delays. His mother says Jacob loves that the device can be customized so it is personal to him. His family has added classmate and family names and pictures as well as his food ‘likes’. They are now working on adding jokes to help Jacob socialize. “Jacob’s AAC device has allowed him confidence in communication so that he can feel independent and successful,” Jacob’s mom shared. “The device helps him open up again.”
While an active woman, Stephanie, 42, is part of the Undiagnosed Disease Network at the National Institutes of Health. With a neuromuscular condition but no official diagnosis, Stephanie was unable to get funding for the wheelchair she needed for mobility outside of her home. The Eric Fund provided Stephanie with a Fold & Go heavy-duty wheelchair in 2019 that allowed her to navigate some bumpy trails in Great Falls, VA. Her increased mobility also allowed Stephanie to fulfill her desire to volunteer in her community. She attended an orientation with Fairfax County’s Volunteers for Change in March just before COVID-19 hit. She said that she’s enrolled and will be ready to go “when it is safe to do so.” Meanwhile, Stephanie told us: “I’m enjoying having family ‘walk and rolls’ in the neighborhood,” where the family walks and she rolls in her new wheelchair.
Priscilla, 57, works in Grants Management with the DC Government, responsible for monitoring federally funded programs, which requires an extensive amount of reading and analyzing financial documents. Priscilla has albinism which makes her legally blind. Reading documents and especially numbers is difficult without magnification. In 2019, The Eric Fund purchased a new magnifying screen for Priscilla that enlarges text and numbers and can scan and enlarge hardcopy media for easy reading. Priscilla describes it as “heaven sent” and says it has made her work so much easier. Priscilla says her “co-workers stop by her cubicle to see my new machine because it’s beautiful.” She’s delighted to tell them she received it from The Eric Fund. While she uses her screen at work, the device belongs to Priscilla and she can use it wherever she likes.
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!
