Why Is It Important? May 2011, the Centers for Disease Control issued a report reflecting that 1 in 6 children now have some form of a developmental delay. aA recent Foundation Center survey showed that only 2.9% of all grant dollars go to programs serving people with disabilities. The budget cuts are obviously overwhelming to comprehend.
In the fourth largest city in the nation, with one of the largest medical centers in the world, many of our most vulnerable neighbors can not find or afford the assistance they need to live healthy lives as participating members of our community. To address these needs, in the past six years we have doubled the number of our programs and increased the number of our collaborations and funding partners, WITHOUT increasing our administrative or technological resources to match this growth. Over 65% of our clients live under the poverty line. In addition, many lower and middle class working families are trapped – they make too much to be eligible for government assistance, but too little to afford basic needs and the specialized technology, medical, transportation and caregiver costs created by disability. Easter Seals seeks to fill some of these gaps with programs focused on providing the highest impact in the most effective way.
We believe, you are a major part of the solution and long term growth of Easter Seals. One partner at a time. If we all become a Care2Spin partner we may then engage others to join in the solution. We can stabilize the current situation and then invest in the creation of economic impact solutions such as technology and application based learning. What if we can serve more individuals through training those needing these tools in the foreseeable future? It will take each of us to help find a longer term solution. Our leadership believes you are the best partner we can find! Easter Seals is the only organization of its type in the greater Houston area – serving people of all ages, with any type of disability regardless of their ability to pay for services. So we ask each of YOU to give2gether and allow us to continue to design new and innovative ways to continue to serve those who are depending on us. THANK YOU!