E D U C A T I O N A L
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ARCHIVED WEBSITE
MATERIAL
MAY 2008
The world's largest jigsaw puzzle (article)
Featured Project - The King's Daughters School and The King's Daughters School Center for Autism (article and photos)
ENDORSED
PROJECTS From the Around the World Department
F E A T U R E D P R O J E C T - Kids Alive International
(article and photos) Tom Houghton in Dominican Republic
THE WORLD'S LARGEST JIGSAW PUZZLE
My name is Pat Alspaugh
and I am a member of Bayshore Circle in Virginia
Beach. I am the new Branch Coordinator for Autism. I am co- founder of
FACT, Families of Autistic Children in Tidewater, a 501C-3 organization
that
promotes social, recreational and vocational programs for children and
teens
with autism. We support the integration of these individuals into the
community by providing social models, communication augmentation and emotional
and behavioral supports.
As many of you know
the incidence of autism has risen dramatically over the
last decade. When my son Matt was diagnosed the incidence was reported
as 1 in 10,000. The CDC now reports that 1 in 150 individuals is affected
by autism. With this growing population there is a tremendous need for
services to assist the individuals and families of those affected in our
community, region and state.
FACT provides many
services throughout the year, many of you are familiar
with our summer camp, Camp Gonnawannagoagin. Please visit our website
at www.camp4autism.org
for more in depth information.
FACT is kicking off
its capital campaign to build a Regional Resource Center,
very similar to the school for Autistic Children in Tennessee that was
featured in the December issue of The Silver Cross, with a unique
fundraiser. FACT is breaking the World's Record for the Largest Jigsaw
Puzzle(60,000 sq ft. )The assembly will take place at the Va. Beach Convention
Center on Sunday , April 27th. The event is free and open to the public
and we hope to have local and national media coverage. The jigsaw puzzle
piece is the international symbol for autism awareness and April is Autism
Awareness month.
I am asking for support
from all Virginia Circles to help make this event a
success. The puzzle pieces are for sale for $5 a piece and each piece
will be
personalized. You can also purchase these online by visiting http://www.firstgiving.com/FACTpuzzle
. There is a link to our recent youtube video which is a
great visual representation of our group. There are also
sponsorships available and opportunities to volunteer. This would make
a
great project for your circle and will help support the IOKDS Lend- A
-Hand
for Autism projects. Honorariums and memorial donations are available
as well.
You can call me at home at (757) 481-0970 or contact us through the website
for further information on how you can get involved with this very World
Record Breaking Project. I appreciate any and all support.
In His Name,
Pat Alspaugh
THE KING'S DAUGHTERS SCHOOL
In
1912, the The King's Daughters and Sons built and operated the first hospital
in Maury County, Tennessee located in Columbia. It was the only hospital
in the county until 1954 at which time the Maury County Hospital was completed.
The King's Daughters' Hospital closed, and in order to continue serving the community, the King's Daughters and Sons founded The King's Daughters' School in September 1955, The school was established as a private non-profit residential program for individuals with mental retardation. The school was based on the philosophy that people with mental challenges should not be isolated from society but allowed to function and be afforded rights and opportunities like every citizen.
Over the past fifty-two years, the school has served hundreds of individuals from all over the United States and abroad. The King's Daughters' School has grown from one building and a house to include eleven residential homes, an education building, a gymnasium, an eight-acre camp site, and several other amenities. As a front-runner in the field of mental retardation, The King's Daughters' School developed into a program that serves individuals of all ages. The program has expanded but remains true to its purpose.
(photo, above, top - The King's Daughters School Center for Autism; above left, David Craig, Executive Director, The King's Daughters School)
THE KING'S DAUGHTERS SCHOOL CENTER FOR AUTISM
The Center for Autism is a new and state-of-the-art branch campus of The King's Daughters' School. As a highly-structured, co-educational campus, the Center for Autism provides individual attention to help children ages 7-22 learn to communicate and master self-help skills. The Center serves children from across the United States and abroad who have significant communication, sensory, social, daily living, and/or behavioral challenges.
Students at the Center for Autism benefit from a small student-teacher ratio (2.5 to 1, and lower for children who need more intensive supports) and a small capacity (just 20 students residentially and a small number of day students). This allows teachers and staff to focus on each child as an individual, and to tailor their teaching strategies to meet each child's needs and abilities.
Kids Alive International is an Endorsed Project of the International Order of The King's Daughters and Sons. The purpose of this organization is to reach the children of the world for Christ by meeting their spiritual, physical, educational and emotional needs.
Tom and
Winifred - Winifred, who is six, is sponsored by a couple in Tom's Bible
Study group.
KAI was founded in 1916 in China by Dr. Les & Ava Anglin. To this day, the focus of the KAI ministry is to cooperate with churches to help children 4-14. They work in the Middle East, Taiwan, Latin America, the Pacific Rim, Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa.
Tom Houghton, Illinois Branch Around the World Director, had the opportunity to serve Him by using his talents this past summer (2006) in the Dominican Republic. The Ark (El Arca in Spanish) is an orphanage run by Kid's Alive International for the past 18-20 years in Jaracoboa.
Mission service teams came from all parts of the USA - Washington, Oregon, California, Minnesota, and Illinois. They laid block, painted, plumbed, roofed, dug holes, put up playground equipment, poured concrete floors, ran electrical wires, went white-water rafting, parasailing, swimming, played with and studied the Bible with the children and staff. Tom's job was to help the KAI Resident Directors/Missionaries coordinate the work and play for these approximately 125 Christian volunteers.
He has seen first-hand the good this organization is doing for children at risk in third-world countries.
New shoes
and a ride in a truck can make you happy.
Working on
a wall of a small house
Baptism in
the local river
Transporting
a Mission Service Team to the day's work project
Native villagers
still use outdated methods of farming
Chautauqua
Scholarship
Program
Information
on the Program and how to apply.
[more]
