Dan Zanes and Friends - A true community event raising dollars for autism

[Guest guest]

Dear Friends,

Reporting on the Dan Zanes show last month - great success!! Read on for details, where the money goes, sponsors, and pictures from this fun event. This year 70 families will be funded for sure through our Helping Hand Program, and contingent upon additional funds raise, there may be another 30 of them fnded. Your family may be beneficiary next year through our grants so stay tuned!

Thanks for reading and your support!

Pattison

::Great Time with Dan Zanes and Friends - A true community event raising dollars for autism::

April 28, 2009

Dear Friends of the National Autism Association - Northeast Ohio Chapter,

Thank you for everyone's support to our organization's 2009 benefit show featuring Grammy-winning Dan Zanes and Friends! On March 27 we had a most successful show, drawing over 550 people from the greater Cleveland and Akron area and raising funds for local families affected by autism.

The event not only provided high quality musical entertainment but it also raised awareness and educated the general public about autism. Dan Zanes made repeated references to the concert being a true community event embracing all. This feeling of togetherness was palpable. Special accommodations to children with autism or other special needs were provided by NAA-NEO through the arrangement of a quiet room with calming equipment, staffed by volunteers from STEPS Behavioral Consulting Services. In addition, there was another kid-friendly activity - a bouncer to jump on for all little people. One of the highlights of the evening was a special performance of students from the Music Therapy Enrichment Center

(MTEC) in Cleveland, Ohio, some with special needs, who had the unique chance to sing with Dan Zanes and Friends on stage.

The concert was also a great fundraiser that generated proceeds from from ticket and concessions sales, raffle, corporate sponsorships and in-kind donations. Funds raised will allow NAA-NEO to give out grants to 30 additional children with autism and their families in Northeast Ohio in 2009 through its Helping Hand Program. Families will use these grants for a variety of autism therapies and treatments such as behavioral, speech, occupational, physical or music therapies, summer camp, tuition assistance, respite care, medical and biomedical treatment and testing, specialized equipment and others.

If you were at the event - we hope you had a terrific time! If you volunteered to help out - we could not have had such a smoothly run night without the help of the dozens of volunteers who landed us a hand in support of autism. We are truly thankful to all of you!

We would like to give special thanks to our most generous sponsors for their committment to supporting local children and families with autism. Through our grant program they have supported and the service linkage we provide at NAA-NEO, together we are able to help families in a meaningful way by helping them access autism treatments and therapies that their children desperately need.

Thank you!

Yours truly,

National Autism Association - Northeast Ohio (NAA-NEO)

We Thank Our Sponsors

Holly Reimann, MA CCC-SLP

Speech-language Pathologist Peak Potential Therapy

Other Sponsors

DeMio, MD

Milestones Organization

Raffle Item Donors

Dan Zanes and Friends

Kay Flaherty

Lake Erie Monsters

Great Wolf Lodge (Sandusky, OH)

Big Fun (on Coventry Rd, Cleveland, OH)

Visible Voice Books (in Tremont)

Bouncelandfun

Play Matters

Children's Museum (Cleveland, OH)

Tommy's Restaurant (on Coventry Rd, Cleveland, OH)

Northeast Ohio Chapter

(NAA-NEO)

P. O. Box 221195

Beachwood, OH 44122

216.544.1231

www.autismnortheastohio.org

Dan Zanes and

Friends

Played a Terrific Show in Independence, OH on March 27, 2009

Dan Zanes with Don Pattison, NAA-NEO President and his wife , Program Manager at NAA-NEO and their son Evan before the show on March 27, 2009.

Snickers the Clown entertained our guests throughout the night.

We had a great time at the show!

We hope you did, too!

Holly Reimann, SLP, from Peak Potential Therapy volunteered at the Bouncing House we had set up for all kids to enjoy.

Special Thanks To

Dan Zanes and Friends

Sara Grady

Krevolin and Festival Five Records

Alisa Regas from Pomegranate Arts, Inc

Crazylegs Hemann Crazylegs Productions

Garry

Dave DeOreo from Ideastream, WCPN 90.3

Tommy Bruno from 91.3 The Summit

Curt Linderman from AutismOne Radio

Mulready from CoolCleveland.com

Shimkovitz from Sacks & Company

Judi Greenspan

Holly Palda, Shaker Heights Parent Mentor

Greg , NAA-Member

Tommy's Restaurant

Our Friends and Families for their ongoin support

We Thank Our Volunteers

Jocelyn Mills (NAA-NEO Board Member) and Geib

Kay Flaherty (NAA-NEO Board Member) and Friend Lenny

Alison LaPorte (NAA-NEO Board Member) and Friend Dominik

Kiskorna

The Pattisons (NAA-NEO Board Members) and their friends: Danene Legarth,

Collin Zaslov,

Kooser,

Heinbockel (SLP),

East (LSW),

Kooser,

Judi Greenspan

Trish Wade

Brad as Snickers the Clown

Tique Oeflein (Former NAA-NEO Board Member)

Bill Oflein

Alane Krumbine and Staff from the Music Therapy Enrichment Center (MTEC)

Kerry Walton from Hickman and Lowder

Might and Zevnik from STEPS Consulting as well as their staff who volunteered

Kate Vanderplough from Autism Services for Kids

Holly and Tibor Reimann from Peak Potential Therapy

Kiersten from Milestones Organization and Peak Potential Therapy

Sunderhaft and Family from the Chagrin Valley Women's League

Kris Hoban and other autism families that helped us promote the show

This message was sent from National Autism Association - Northeast Ohio. It was sent from: NAA-NEO, P. O. Box 221195, Beachwood, OH 44122.