The Little Engine that Could

There is a beloved children’s book which over the years has become a classic in the United States. The book, “The Little Engine that Could,” by Watty Piper, tells of a train that needs to be pulled over a mountain to bring toys to all the children. Various large engines are unable to complete the task, before a little engine successfully chugs and strains to the tune of, “I-THINK-I-can…” all the way to its destination! (You can visit Wikipedia to learn more about this book and its history).

The Gray Center is much like the train cars which need to get over the mountain. We have great resources, and we know that people all over the world eagerly await the information and support which we’re poised to provide. Yet on our own, we simply cannot get to our destination! We have a small staff of just six part-time people, and our supportive board of directors is also little in number. We do not receive any government funds, nor have we received any large private grants. Fortunately, we have a little engine with a “can-do attitude”–YOU!

Sometimes you may wonder what one person can do to make a difference. We have an answer to that–you can do a LOT!

Every small effort adds up to a tremendously successful outcome, as your donation dollars, book purchases, conference registrations, volunteer hours, and words of encouragement help us to provide the following services:

- FREE phone and email support, and a growing informational web site, available to people all over the world

- The development of NEW resources for promoting social understanding, such as our DVDs by Michelle Garcia Winner, Laurel Hoekman, Sondra Williams, and Nick Dubin (all are available at www.thegraycenter.org).

- Social Understanding GROUPS to encourage girls and boys who meet regularly for social skills support and an opportunity to meet others with similar gifts and challenges -NETWORKS to help parents, grandparents, siblings, individuals with ASD, and community organizations network with each other to meet their needs and to promote social understanding- A growing lending library to meet the needs of local individuals, families, and classrooms

- The establishment of an endowment fund in honor of Sondra Williams, which will help to provide practical support for individuals with ASD (watch www.thegraycenter.org for future information about this exciting endeavor!)

Have you benefited from The Gray Center in the last year? Please consider becoming a financial partner to enable us to continue to provide information and support for those working to promote social understanding! (Unless you choose to remain anonymous, your name will be listed with our other financial supporters on our SUN web page!) We can’t do it without you! Please take a moment to go to http://www.thegraycenter.org/store/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=161 , click “add to cart,” and update the cart with the dollar amount you would like to contribute. Every donation, whether $1, $5, $25, or $500, is greatly appreciated!Thank you for your continued support and partnership with our nonprofit organization! With your help, we not only “THINK” we can, we “KNOW” we can accomplish great things!

Laurel Hoekman, Executive Director

The Gray Center for Social Learning and Understanding

www.thegraycenter.org

P.S. Remember that the “little” things you do in the home, school, workplace, and community to promote social understanding also help to accomplish great things!