Walking for Ella

I warn you in advance, this is a lengthy one!

We have now turned the corner it's almost March, less than two months to go. I hope that everyone is doing well and preparing for the walk. I have been doing the treadmill thing, but I haven't yet made it to the three mile mark. Actually, that may never happen, after a mile and a half my children have looked at me horrified as I walk pouring with sweat and suggested I sit down. If I didn't know better, I might think they are implying that I, in my old age, might be over doing it!! I must warn you, if the runs on the treadmill are any indication, on April 19, it may be pretty ugly before those three miles are finished!

Seriously though, the walk is something that stays on my mind. I have read and watched so many stories, and have seen and heard about people just like us, who have made such a difference.

Following story is from one of those people.

'Enthusiasm Became Contagious'

My name is Amy Capobianco-Diaz, team captain of team “Matthew's Miracles”. Let me tell you my story. When my son, Matthew was diagnosed on the spectrum in 2004, I was completely devastated, a feeling that we've all shared at one time or another. I have to admit, I knew very little of autism. I only knew of one other child who was diagnosed. I had no idea how that number would change for me. I spent a good portion of that year in a fog. At the end of the year, when the fog started to lift, the feeling of devastation was replaced with anger and frustration. Anger because too many children were being diagnosed and frustration because there was no cure. I remembered seeing a “Walk Far for NAAR” poster the previous year and decided I'd check out what NAAR was. I was always the shy type. Not the go-getter, business-type. When I went on the NAAR web site and saw all the teams, I was pretty intimidated. I saw the amounts being raised by teams like Scarsdale Child and Team Ardsley and thought, “Who am I?” I have no great contacts to raise that kind of money”. I started to second-guess myself. I also started to read the stories written by either team captains or team members. Then something happened. I read a story of team “Loving Levi”. It was from the perspective of Levi's sister. She was asking people to walk with Levi, her and her family for Levi. The thing was that she was asking for us to celebrate their birthdays on the day of the walk. I cried the remainder of that night. How unfair is it for a child to spend a birthday walking to find a cure for himself or for a little girl to ask such a selfless, mature question? This was just the push I needed to make a difference. It didn't matter if I couldn't raise thousands, but it did matter that I played a part in something so important. I signed up my husband, my 2 boys and myself and set my goal at $500 and hoped I could reach it. I typed out Matthew's story through tears and exposed every painful moment about Matthew's decline since he had turned 19 months, the endless therapies and our devastation, and pinned it to the bulletin boards in the two buildings of the co-op that we live in. I had never done anything so bold that it frightened me.The response was overwhelming. Most people were not aware of Matthew's diagnosis and the majority had no idea what autism was. We had been living there for 4 years, but knew only a small circle of people. Now, everyone knew us. Not only did they donate, but they wanted to know all about autism. I was making a difference. People started to volunteer to walk—neighbors, family and friends. The team grew larger as my enthusiasm became contagious. I took the advice of the website and made t-shirts. We were officially a team! We started to brainstorm on ideas of how to raise more money. One team member, a man whom I said, “hello” to in passing prior to this, turned out to be a contractor for the businesses in my town. A store had gone out of business so he put Matthew's story in the window. More donations came. The great and lucky thing was that a reporter from The Westchester Journal News happened to walk by and saw the story and the information about the walk. The next thing we knew, he and a camera man were sitting in my living room, interviewing us about Matthew, autism, NAAR and the walk. Our article brought in more unexpected donations. At this point, I started to come out of my shell. I figured, “if the Girl Scouts could sit and sell cookies in front of the local supermarket, I could ask for donations”. Team members brought the donation sheets to work. We all asked family and friends for their support. My mother even got her church in Massachusetts to hand out 600 copies of Matthew's story one weekend. Team members were asking everyone from their dry cleaners to the man who sells them the morning paper. We were all making a difference! By the time the walk came around, I was so pumped up. Then I pulled up to Manhattanville College. I was so overwhelmed and intimidated by the amount of people. Everyone was hugging each other, laughing and having a great time, and I realized that, I didn't know anyone! So many people seemed to know each other. I felt like a complete stranger. But autism and the teams that day had something in common. They say autism consists of all different kinds of people, regardless of ethnicity, color or socio-economic background. And that is what I found at the walk. Everyone there was different, yet we all had something in common. Everyone was walking for a cure for autism. Everyone fit in, even shy little me. I walked in as a stranger, but I left not only having made new friends, but family. We were and are all in it together. By the time it was all said and done, our team of 4 turned into 35, and our goal of $500 turned into $8500. Whether you are walking for your own loved one or someone else's, you can make a difference.

This woman may have been walking for a different/larger autism organization, but that was not what made the difference. It was her willingness to step out of her box and get involved,

and what a difference she made in people's lives by doing so. In the next couple of weeks, I challenge you to see what you can do.

Our team has already raised approximately

$1400.00

from people who have signed up to walk or sponsored someone.

My goal is to see how far we can take that number.

My challenge to you, as a member of the Walking for Ella team, is to get donations from 2-3 people. If 40 people, get 2,$20.00 donations, we could double our team total. That would be a remarkable thing that could make a remarkable difference for this organization and the families it supports.

As you know, I have said I wanted to put together a t-shirt for the team.

I have come up with a design idea and as soon as everyone who wants one lets me know,

I will get them ordered. I have to know by March 1 if you want to order one. If you have already contacted me about this, there is no need to again. They will come in youth sizes as well. The size range will go rom a childs size XS (2-4) to an adults size XXL. I am posting a picture of an idea I am working on for the t-shirt. They are blurry but they at least give you an idea of what I am trying to do.

Back of the Shirt

Front of the shirt
due to the resolution is is hard to read but it has

the puzzle piece autism ribbon logo over

Beyond the Limits

Walk for Autism

2008

I wanted to let you know that what we are doing in this little county has caught the attention of the Beyond the Limits founder. I was recently emailed and asked if a link to my blog could be posted on their website under the friends tab and if I would allow them to post Ella's slideshow, with people from Houston County holding up signs saying they are walking, on the site for them to use as a way to inspire others to get involved. Though I am having trouble with finding a way for my slideshow software to allow them to post this on their website, I hope to get it figured out soon.

I know that this has been very lengthy but I wanted to share some things that have provided inspiration for me to do this, in the hopes that they will do the same for you.

I will leave you with one last thing,

something that reinforces my belief that God can and will use Ella to do to great things.

This is a story about

Hope.