Wish List
We have received a matching grant from the state, and still have $14,000 left to match. Please send your tax-deductible contribution to the office. For every dollar you donate the state will match it. Donate $100 and it magically turns into $200.
Mary's Family is a non-profit organization offering a unique support system to families with children who have special needs children. What is our wish list? If you contributed financially where would your money go? Are there special projects we need to have funded?
We publish a quarterly journal, Let Me Tell You, and you can purchase advertising in it. Soon the journal will be on-line. If you want to place an ad in the journal please call the office 540-364-4757. It's an excellent way to support this creative publication that gives voice to families with children who have special needs.
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We can always use general funds. We have only one full-time employee, but we also pay for a a respite nurse. We pay for an accountant, and sometimes a lawyer to help file legal documents for us. We hire interns, with the summer intern working full-time. Our monthly expenses come to approximately $5,000, depending on the season.
- We attend many meetings on behalf of parents, sometimes 2 a day. With gasoline at $3 a gallon the costs of attending meetings can be $20 a meeting!
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We plan on special trips during the year. Our yearly camping trip to Assateague National Seashore costs $1,000. We camp in a group site right on the dunes, and really enjoy the sea, the National Park exhibits and being together. The bonfire on the beach is great fun - cooking crabs and clams.
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We also help families with the cost of trips to the hospital, especially when that hospital is in Houston or New York City. We give families gas cards to get to frequest hospital trips. We help families with all sorts of emergencies. We can't help everyone, everytime.....but we try.
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We like to take a summer retreat to Trinity Center, North Carolina, a beachfront Episcopal family retreat center. The pool, the cafeteria and the ocean are all accessible! This trip gives families a chance to relax together in a a quiet way. We bring volunteers with us to help baby-sit. One mom spent her retreat asleep the whole 3 days! This trip costs $3,000, based on 25 people attending. This includes all food, lodging and extras.
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When we have extra money we pay for parents to have special workshops on topics of concern, such as the County Sheriff's Project Lifesaver program that is a GPS type system for people with cognitive disabilities. We paid for the parents to eat lunch with Officer Sal Torelli!
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One of our donors pays for the moms (and a few dads) to have a make-over every year. during the respite day we pay for haircuts, manicures and pedicures and even a makeover for a mom's car! This can cost about $2,000.
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Sometimes people are at the store and see a great sale. What would Mary's Family need?
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A handicapped accessible van to transport things to respite site, and to use for camping trips and family retreats.
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Physical therapy edged mats, roll up mats and exercise balls
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Tents called Create A Room, with a blow up mattress that goes inside. These are usually thematic, like Superman.
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Dolls, with clothes, especially dolls that talk when you squeze them Thematic dolls, such as doctors and nurses
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Crayons, colored pencils, washable paint, glue sticks, and construction paper (NOTE: especially if you see oversized crayons in the shape of a ball)
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Seasonal stickers, coloring books and supplies
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Gardening supplies to plant seeds, dirt, seeds, bulbs and pots
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Harmonicas, Music sets with drums, tamberines and bells
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Books and CD's, concentrating on easy to sing along tunes
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Photo albums, scrapbook supplies
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Office supplies, such as xerox paper, fax and computer ink, and printing
Copies of our financial statement, prepared by Wendy Edwards @ Schuelein, Patchett and Edwards, CPA, are available upon request.
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