A senatorial suggestion secured a handsome donation from the United Arab Emirates to a P.E.I. not-for-profit organization that provides services and supports to people with autism.
Hamad Alawadi, the UAE Embassy’s Charge d’Affaires in Canada, made the trip from Ottawa Monday with a $20,000 US cheque (more than $25,000 when converted to Canadian funds) for the Charlottetown-based Stars For Life Foundation for Autism.
P.E.I. Senator Percy Downe suggested the organization as a deserving recipient of the UAE’s generosity – a country that ranked as the top donor of international development assistance in 2013, 2014, and 2016 based on gross national income.
The donation, noted Alawadi, is a symbol of friendship and solidarity from the United Arab Emirates to the Canadian people and to everyone affected by autism spectrum disorder, which affects the ability to communicate and respond normally to surroundings.
Housing hope
In 2011, the first Stars for Life Home and Resource Centre was completed in Charlottetown. The home supports five full time residents with 24-hour care, where they learn life skills with the hope of moving to a more independent living environment. The resource centre provides day programming for young people with autism.
Stars for Life president Carolyn Bateman is thrilled to have captured the attention – and generosity – of the UAE.
“We are so excited by this recognition from your country,’’ Bateman told Alawadi shortly before giving him a tour of the Stars for Life Home and Resource Centre that supports five full time residents with 24-hour care.
“Words cannot express how thankful we are for this donation.’’
Did you know?
One in 68 Island children and one in 42 boys are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). There are more than 500 children and adults in P.E.I. with ASD, which affects the ability to communicate and respond normally to surroundings.
Bateman says the money will help make up the fundraising shortfall in 2017.
The Stars for Life Foundation was founded in 2001 to assist families when their children with autism spectrum disorder leave the school system and their vital daily supports disappear.
“Our mission is to provide lifelong living and learning opportunities and help them keep connected to their communities and their families,’’ says Bateman.
“We do this through continued education, teaching life and social skills and assisting them in finding and keeping jobs, providing autism trained support workers so that they can go to college and in general help them navigate an adult world which is so different from the security of the lives they have known up to now.’’
Just over 40 individuals are on the wait list for services provided by Stars for Life.
Bateman says the foundation’s long-term goals are to build more housing and a larger space for the resource centre to address the growing need for services on P.E.I.
“That is why this year we are embarking on our first endowment campaign to raise the considerable funds to address these needs,’’ she says.
