The Eric Fund is honored each year to help incredible children and adults with disabilities maximize their potential and live their dreams
The Eric Fund marches on! Thanks to your generosity, we are completing 27 years of making a difference in the lives of people with disabilities in the Washington, DC, metro area. This year five people will receive needed assistive technology that will help them live more independently on their own terms. The assistive devices we provide will allow people to more easily communicate with their families, friends, classmates and workplace colleagues. In many cases, new mobility and communication devices provide greater access to community activities, hobbies and advancement at their place of work.
This year The Eric Fund has awarded a variety of assistive devices, including two laptops , one for a young boy with autism and a young woman with a traumatic brain injury (TBI), Ray Ban Meta Smart glasses and a Braille Reader for a young woman with extremely limited vision, an augmentative communication device for a young boy with significant speech and language delays, and a variety of assistive equipment to help a woman living with slowly progressing ALS.
After a careful review of our applications, The Eric Fund awards applicants who have exhausted every other means of support, whether it’s insurance, workplace, school, or family resources. From their personal stories, we know these devices have an impact not only on the recipients but also their families, friends, teachers and work colleagues. With extensive outreach to social workers, teachers, medical professionals, disability organizations and previous awardees, we’re able to identify these amazing and worthy applicants. This year’s five awardees bring our total number of people whom The Eric Fund has assisted to 145.
We’re very proud of our 27-year history of providing assistive technology to the disability community in the Washington metro area and remain dedicated to this mission. Without your continuing support this would not be possible. We’re grateful and continue to be inspired by the spirit of Eric Savader, a fierce advocate for people with disabilities who believed passionately that they deserve a level playing field.
We hope you will continue your generous support of our efforts and will share The Eric Fund story with your friends and family. We thank you and wish you very Happy Holidays!
Sincerely,
President
Time for another get-together! We hope you’ll mark your calendars and join us on Monday, May 4, 2026, from 6-9 p.m. for our Spring Fundraiser at the fabulous Nellie’s Restaurant and Sports Bar in Washington, DC, the lively scene of many past Eric Fund events. As always, there will be a reception and silent auction with lots of dreamy, fun offerings. Our last gathering took place in 2023 at Nellie’s and Eric Fund supporters have been clamoring for another – that’s how much fun it is! More details to follow.
In its 27th year, The Eric Fund is pleased to announce the purchase of more than $26,000 worth of vital assistive technology for five people in the Washington, DC, metro area. Award winners live in all three regions of the metro area served by The Eric Fund, including Washington, DC, Northern Virginia and Southern Maryland.
A MacBook Air laptop will assist a young man with autism in his job training and volunteer work while an HP laptop will replace a broken computer and help a young woman with a traumatic brain injury in her online classes. A woman diagnosed with ALS will receive a specialized mobility device as well as other necessary equipment to help her maintain her mobility, independence and quality of life.
A young boy with a verbal disability will receive an assistive technology device to help him communicate at home and school. A young woman with extremely limited vision will receive “smart” glasses that provide AI and audio descriptions to help her navigate in different environments. She will also receive a portable Braille display device that can be used with various digital devices.
These devices are not covered by insurance and the recipients have exhausted every other means of support whether school, workplace or family resources. This is when The Eric Fund steps in. A Washington, DC-based nonprofit organization, The Eric Fund purchases needed and often expensive assistive technology and equipment for children and adults with disabilities that allows them to live on their own terms in their communities. We are grateful that we’ve been able to continue this work for nearly three decades and are acutely aware that it is only possible with your generosity and continuing support of the cause. With this year’s awards, The Eric Fund is honored to have provided 145 people with $326,000 in life-changing assistive technology and equipment since it began, thanks to your continued support.
Founded in 1998, The Eric Fund is inspired by the memory of Eric Savader, who worked passionately on behalf of people with disabilities.
Please read on to meet The Eric Fund’s 2025 award recipients to see how your support makes such a difference in their lives.
Izzy is a 27-year-old woman from Washington, DC, who is blind due to retinitis pigmentosa. The Eric Fund is purchasing life-changing assistive technology for Izzy that is not funded by insurance but will make a huge difference in her life as noted in her evaluation for these specific technologies.
Shelia is a 59-year-old woman from Southern Maryland living with slow-progressing ALS. Shelia is a musician and was training to join the Sheriff ’s department when she received her ALS diagnosis, which has gradually limited her ability to walk and perform daily tasks. The Eric Fund helped Shelia partially purchase a Zeen, a mobility aid that enhances her ability to remain independent and navigate at home and in the community on her own as she does not yet require a power wheelchair.
Derek is a 19-year-old young man with autism from Northern Virginia. A high school graduate, Derek has been involved with many recent programs to assist with his independence and employability including job training and peer mentoring programs. Derek also volunteers at a program for people with disabilities at his church where he helps with socialization and creative activities.
Olivia is a 27-year-old woman from Northern Virginia who loves helping others. Olivia lives with traumatic brain injury (TBI) resulting from a serious car accident when she was an infant. Her traumatic brain injury has resulted in developmental and functional challenges and medical issues. Olivia is working on completing her Associate’s degree and is looking at future employment options.
Manu is an 11-year-old boy from Southern Maryland with speech and language delays and an articulation disorder impacted by a former cleft palate that makes it hard for him to communicate verbally at home and at school. He is socially motivated to communicate, using gestures, his existing speech and other means when connecting with others.
As The Eric Fund completes its 27th 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 5 deserving people with equipment that will allow them to live more independent lives.
Thanks to your generous support, The Eric Fund continues to make a difference each year in the lives of children and adults with disabilities in the Washington, DC, metro area who are in need of life-changing but often expensive assistive technology. We have been able to give more than $326,000 in much-needed equipment to 145 people.
We are deeply grateful for your continued support or our organization and mission, and for the impact you have had on the lives of our awardees and their families. Thank you!
Catch up with some of our past Eric Fund award winners and see what they are up to today
Joshua is a 14-year-old boy from Southern Maryland with autism and ADHD. His additional diagnosis of encephalopathy impacts his brain functionality, all of which result in language challenges, repetitive movements, learning disabilities and social communication difficulties. Joshua’s mother reports that the iPad Joshua received from The Eric Fund “has helped him with his focus and vocabulary development...he learns new words daily” when he logs onto the device’s apps. She said, “Thank you so much for transforming Joshua’s life.”
Ezra is a nine-year-old boy from Northern Virginia who has autism and does not communicate verbally. Ezra enjoys nature which his mother says is when he’s happiest. The Eric Fund provided Ezra with an iPad and special software which allows it to become a speaking device. His mother reports that Ezra uses his iPad every day “and is truly thriving because of it. It has been the missing piece in helping him overcome many of his challenges. He is now able to express his needs and wants through the device, which has made a remarkable difference in his daily life.” She added, “We are deeply grateful to The Eric Fund for making it possible.”
Jahmil is a very active 19-year-old from Northern Virginia who is blind. When he received the MacBook with a built-in screen reader from The Eric Fund last year, Jahmil was training in independent living skills, including tech and home skills, braille, travel skills and shop classes. He told us that the computer and training “changed my productivity instantly.” Since then, he has graduated, become the president of a statewide association for blind students, and started his first year of college. He said the computer was pivotal in accomplishing these goals and continues to help him in his personal and educational activities. Jahmil is especially excited about his ability to use this tool to create music independently that is very accessible for the blind. Jahmil said he is “very grateful to The Eric Fund and everybody who has supported this grant.” He hopes we “continue supporting people who need access to technology.”
Maximo is a 14-year-old boy with autism, ADHD and cerebral palsy who lives in Northern Virginia. He received a MacBook Pro computer that he uses to run STEM programs, play therapeutic games, and do speech therapy remotely. Maximo is an honor roll student who loves science. He also loves sports and is now a wrestler with his high school wrestling team. Maximo’s personal message to us: “I would like to thank The Eric Fund for my MacBook Pro! I like to play my interactive video games on it with my friends...And thanks to my laptop I can do my talk therapy online!”We are delighted to hear directly from Maximo and wish him great success.
LaShay is a 34-year-old woman from Northern Virginia with cerebral palsy and hand weakness. LaShay is pursuing a college degree in Visual Arts where her hand weakness makes both art and computer skills challenging. The Eric Fund provided an Apple pencil, keyboard and protective case for the iPad Air she received from another source. We also provided special gloves that support her hands and a stand for the iPad. LaShay said she uses the Apple pencil to do her homework assignments and to practice drawing. The supportive gloves are especially helpful with her drawing classes. LaShay said she also uses these tools for her daily tasks outside of school and said she wanted “to thank everyone at The Eric Fund” for these helpful devices.
Idriss is an eight-year-old boy from Northern Virginia who has autism, ADHD and who does not communicate verbally. Idriss used an iPad to communicate at school but did not have one at home. The Eric Fund provided an iPad and keyboard recommended by his medical team and teachers. Idriss’ mother said, “The iPad has helped my son tremendously by giving him access to a voice.” She also told us that Idriss is now writing full sentences and is able to request his wants and needs. She said, “It has been a life changer” and expressed her thanks for all The Eric Fund does.
As you can imagine, narrowing down the application pool each year is difficult, and often leaves many worthy candidates without the funding for the assistive technology they need to lead more independent lives in the community. Your generous donations will help us continue to change lives, by putting vital equipment in the hands of people with disabilities to help them live life on their own terms. Help us expand our reach. More donations mean more grants and fewer people we need to turn away each year. We will continue to put every dollar to work!
