Autism Project Pitched to AM Kiwanis

Autism Awareness Logo
Monday Morning
We had 16 members and our guest speaker, Immediate Past Lt. Governor Tonya Alling, at our flooded Monday meeting. Due to an unexpected flood in our meeting room at Main Street Lounge & Café, we had to meet in the restaurant section. Hopefully things will be back to normal by next Monday morning. Gary Miller had four for an InterClub to the Kewaskum Club on Monday evening, but he was also looking for an insurance member or two in case someone needed to cancel. “Happy Bucks” were offered by our speaker Tonya Alling for a potential new member for our Club, Todd Elliot, who is a personal friend of Tonya’s and who is looking to get involved in a FDL Kiwanis Club. Gary Miller also had a “Happy Buck” in anticipation of a successful InterClub to Kewaskum. Gary Ring noted that Danny Loomans is holding a press conference on Friday at FDL High School to kick off the Food for Freedom Drive that he’s embarking on. Governor Walker and/or the Wisconsin First Lady are expected to be attending. Ron Seidl was the 50/50 Raffle winner and he drew the Ace of Clubs. Not a winner so the pot continues to grow. Next Monday’s game will have 37 cards, eight pay cards and a pot of at least $193.

Tonya Alling, Kiwanis Autism Project
WI-UM Kiwanis District Governor Lynn and First Lady Merita Messer are passionate about helping children on the Autism Spectrum learn and communicate. Their granddaughter, Kelsey, was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder at the age of eight, so the Messers have firsthand experience with the unique challenges for children on the spectrum. It has been proven that autistic children benefit from the use of software Apps available for the Apple® iPad. An iPad with a protective case and one app will cost approximately $500. Governor Messer’s goal is to raise over $500,000 during his term, which will be used to furnish iPads, Autism software Apps, and protective cases for at least 1,000 children on the Autism Spectrum in the WI-UM Kiwanis District.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a life-long disability that affects the way a person communicates and relates to other Those affected typically display major impairments in three areas: social interaction, communication and behavior. According to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control, 1 in 88 children in the United States have autism in some form. Teachers are using iPads as a tool to reach out to children with ASD and the results are remarkable. Autistic children are showing tremendous improvement after playing fun-filled exercises on the iPad which is less stressful and more fun for the teachers and students, and mutually beneficial for parents, siblings and other caregivers.
Tonya talked about the strategy her Ripon Kiwanis Club has taken to jump start this fund-raising effort as well as the use of the “FirstGiving” webpage to also help raise funds for this project.