Marcy Points

#GivingTuesday Campaign

Most of you know by now that the Frankie Lemmon School has become a huge part of our family, and we are passionate about supporting the school and helping in its fundraising efforts. Giving Tuesday has become even more important for us in the last year as it is a huge fundraiser for this amazing school.

Josh and I have been supporters of Frankie Lemmon for several years.  Our youngest son Thomas is 4, and this is his second school year attending Frankie Lemmon.  When we started supporting Frankie Lemmon years ago, we never thought we would be on the other side of things with a child at school there.  Now the cause to help raise money for this special place has become very personal to our family.

For those of you that don’t know much about Thomas, he was born with Apert Syndrome.  Apert is a craniofacial condition where sutures in the skull fuse together in the womb.  The other signature characteristics of Apert are fused hands and feet.  Thomas has endured four surgeries in his short life – two of which gave him his ten fingers and ten toes, and one where his skull was reshaped to make room for his brain to grow.  Thomas also has major developmental delays.  He is nonverbal at 4 ½ years old which is a huge challenge to him and us.  In addition to not speaking, there have been lots of behavioral challenges we have experienced with Thomas which caused us to seek out an evaluation for Autism. Thomas was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder this past August.

We are so fortunate to live in an area that has a school like Frankie Lemmon. It has played a huge part in Thomas’s growth and development over the past year and a half. I cannot say enough good things about the amazing teachers, therapists and staff.  They all genuinely love the children they work with.  This year the staff has filled a new Behavioral Specialist position who has been so key to helping with lots of Thomas’s issues.  Without generous donations from the community and broader, things like this would not be possible.

As we enter the holiday season with Giving Tuesday, I encourage you to look into the amazing things being done at the Frankie Lemmon School for kids just like Thomas who need a little extra attention.  I was told that Wake County provides $1000 for each student at Frankie Lemmon.  That astounded me, as so much more is needed to pay the staff, pay for the technology, the meals, and just the day-to-day things required to run a school.

Here is what your donation can provide:

$25 – Adapted Eating Utensils 
$50 – Therapeutic Pressure Vest
$100 – Adaptive Chair
$250 – GoTalk Communication Aid
$500 – A Music Therapy Session for Each Classroom
$1,000 – A Month of Fresh Fruits & Veggies for Healthy School Meals
$2,500 –  Sponsor a Child’s Feeding Therapy for an Entire Month
$5,000 – SMART Board for Adaptive Learning

On behalf of myself and my family, I just want to thank you in advance for your donation to this amazing school.  I know that this season brings lots of asks when it comes to a charitable cause. If you find it in your heart to donate to Frankie Lemmon, it will help Thomas and so many children like him who have special needs.