Cookies for iPads - A Call for Help

The following is a Facebook Post from one of my FAVORITE

Facebook pages, Cookies for iPads - giving children with Autism a voice

Attention Bakers!! Our Third Annual "Light the Night with Hope" lantern lighting for April Autism Awareness Month will be Saturday April 26th. This is the biggest event of the year and we need cookies for Cookiepalooza! If you can bake this year, please mark your calendars. All shipments can be sent to: SBS c/o Cookies for iPads 800 Park Ave W. Mansfield,OH 44906. Please share with all bakers!

Cookies for iPads is very near and dear to my heart!  If you look on my navigation bar, you will see a whole page dedicated to them, see it?  Here it is!  

I have featured them on my blog several time, Melissa, the founder, did a guest post last year, you can read it HERE! If I could describe them in one word, it would be AMAZING!  Here is the low down on them, they bake cookies, sell cookies, use the money to purchase iPads for children with Autism.  How cool is that?  Pretty cool I think!  

With their annual Cookiepalooza quickly coming up, I am putting the call out once again!    I am using my blog and Facebook page, asking, asking and shamelessly begging for help for Cookies for iPads.


 Today, I am giving you three options to choose from, if you are willing and able to help this wonderful organization.

1. BAKE

 If you are a baker, and would like to send something to the bake sale, that would be great.  Packages can be sent to: 

SBS 

c/o Cookies for iPads

 800 Park Ave W. 

Mansfield,OH 44906

    The bake sale is Saturday, April 26th, in Ohio.  They will take ANY and ALL baked goods, they are not picky.  Do you bake a wonderful chocolate chip cookie?  Send it!  Do you have a favorite banana bread recipe?  SEND it!  The point being, if you love to bake, and want to help this amazing organization, bake and send it, they will greatly appreciate it!

2. Make a Purchase at the Thirty-One Fundraiser Party
 
 Do you LOVE Thirty-One products?  Do you want to help out Cookies for iPads?  Great....I am here to make it easy for you!  

I am hosting a Thirty-One Fundraiser party!  If you make a purchase, 20% of the total party will be donated to Cookies for iPads.  We are leaving the party up until April 28th, so you have time to decide what you want.

 Click on the Cookies for iPads Fundraiser, and make a purchase

Melissa, from Thirty-One, will also be hosting a Facebook Party.  Here she will be live chatting, talking about monthly specials and answering questions.  The party will be Monday April 21st, from 8-8:30 pm, Central Time.  You can join the party HERE

I am pretty new to Thirty-One products, having just placed my first order, but I can tell you, I am in LOVE with them!  They are so well made, and the colors and patterns make my heart SING!

A special shout out to Melissa from My Recent Favorite Reads, for all of her help with this party!  She is our consultant, a fellow blogger and a Autism Warrior Mom!  Thank you so much Melissa!

3. Send iTunes Cards
 
If you are not a baker, and don't need/want a Thirty-One Product, you can still help.

    While Cookies for iPads give needy children iPads, the apps for some of the programs needed, can be         pretty expensive.  If you want to help, you can send iTunes cards!  Cookies for iPads, will then in turn,         give them to children/families to help then defer the cost of some of these apps.  ITune cards and                   monetary donations can be sent to   

SBS 

c/o Cookies for iPads

 800 Park Ave W. 

Mansfield,OH 44906

_____________________________________________

Now that I have told you how your can help this organization, I thought I would share some personal experiences with Cookies for iPads.



In October of 2012, I received a package in the mail, with a card.  I was expecting some t-shirts I had ordered from Cookies for iPads, but I was shocked at the card in the box!


Dear Kim,
On behalf of Cookies for iPads, here is an iPad for Collin! 
How can I say thank you for being a part of helping us reach 20 iPads, or all of the cookies you and your cookie friends sent? 
Well…by sending your amazing son the iPad he deserves! May God rich him greatly with this device in ways we can not yet see!
Love,
Melissa and the Team at Cookies for iPads

Yes, in the box was not t-shirts, but an iPad for Collin!

Did you read that note carefully?  20 iPads were given out!  20 iPads!  How did they do that?  Well, when I found out they were having their annual Cookiepalooza Bake Sale, I put the word out!  I contacted all my cookie and baking friends, asking if they would be willing to bake cookies and send them to Cookies for iPads, the response was OVERWHELMING!

Personally, I find this just AMAZING!  And I want it to happen again this year!  I was chatting with Melissa, from Cookies for iPads, and the need this year is just as big, if not bigger.  They have also expanded the areas they help with, they want to help put in a playground at the Autism School, and send a couple special kiddos to camp.  So the need is great, and the bakers are few, so I am asking for help.  Bake, buy, support, spread the word....do what you can...every little bit helps!




If you are a supporter of Cookies for iPads, I had the amazing Melanie from Adorability Designs, create this cute little button for me, feel free to grab it, and display it on your blog.....it will direct your readers to the Cookies for iPads Facebook page.

<div align="center"> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cookies-for-Ipads-giving-children-with-autism-a-voice/186571024739428?ref=br_tf" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1070.photobucket.com/albums/u482/Marshmelly/The%20Cookie%20Puzzle/button2_zps66b3907b.png" border="0"></a> </div>




This post might be linked up at the link parties found Here

Cookies for iPads by Melissa of Cookies for iPads

 

 

Today I have a very special guest poster for you! Melissa from Cookies for iPads!  If you are not familuar with Cookies for iPads,well...you must not read my blog every much, but that is ok.....Melissa and I will tell you all you need to know about them!

I have written about them several times, you can read about them Here, Here, and Here.  Cookies for iPads, is very near and dear to our hearts, and we do all we can to support them.  If you are looking for a organization to support, because you want to offer your support to Autism, I highly recommend this one.  They are moms...moms who love their kid...and every penny they raise go the purchase of iPad for Autistic children.

So....settle in...and I hope you enjoy reading the story of Melissa of Cookies for iPads!

Take it away Melissa!

************************************************************************




 I used to keep cookie jars all over my kitchen, because this girl loves some sugar! My grandma used to say a house full of sugar never runs out of sweetness! Baking was in my blood, so the sweetness in my house never ran on empty and neither did my Cooke jars!

I didn't realize that my grandmother was storing up hope for my future at that point, but she was. I heard the word Autism for the first time when I was around 22 years old. I, like so many of you, only heard that label in a fleeting moment of someone describing another person's child. Little did I know that 12 years later that word would take root in my own child. Little did I know that word would flip my world in ways I didn't know it could be flipped.

On July 3, 2006 my little fire cracker, Chase, entered the world and stole every one's heart instantly. He was just like every other baby in hitting most of his milestones and he filled my heart with that sweetness my grandmother always spoke of. One week after Chase's first birthday we had an episode of fever and rash that landed him in ICU for two days. It was truly the scariest moment of my life. Nobody could really tell us what was wrong. All we knew was that he had a high grade fever that wasn't willing to break, a severe rash, refused to verbalize, and a child who suddenly looked through you like you were glass. Any little sound would send him over the edge in what we now know as a "meltdown." For those of you who are unfamiliar with Autism, meltdowns are a common occurrence, at least in our household. Where a tantrum is goal driven, a meltdown is a reactive process to sensory overload or stimulation reactivity. There are several levels that can occur with a meltdown and they can occur before, during, or after a neurological response to something that is occurring in the individuals daily process. For us, it took several years to learn and create a strategic intervention program that would help our son through these moments. In the beginning he would have a melt down that would repel me straight into a temper tantrum at the feet of God. His was reactive and mine was goal driven. He didn't like where we were or what was on TV or a sound that he heard and well, I just wanted God to make Autism go away.

At around the age of 2, my heart broke in two again and my "cookie jar" started to run on empty. People started noticing that he wasn't speaking yet and I was smothering inside. Smothering because I didn't know why. The word Autism hadn't entered our world yet. By age 2 1/2, I created a fairly good con of keeping his verbal issue at bay. When someone would ask him a question, I would immediately jump in and answer for him or make an excuse for him. What some mothers rejoiced over, I dreaded. You know...the little waitress who would say, "Well, your just cute as a bug! What is your name sweetheart?" He would stare a hole through her and I would appease myself by jumping in and saying, "Say chase." This would immediately bring giggles from him which had to be a way for God to ease my pain. This went on for quite a while until my family finally pushed me to see our doctor. She immediately put him in speech therapy and by age 3, we met our angel. Her name was Leah and she was his speech pathologist. She was the first person who really looked me in the eye and said autism. She said it in such a way that my heart finally listened without the embarrassment, fear, and anger. I made an appointment at what I now reference the saddest place on Earth, Nationwide Children's ASD Center. We were scheduled for 3 appointments; an evaluation and focus group, a psychiatric evaluation, and a family briefing. Our first appointment consisted of several therapists, a CNP, and a psychiatrist. For 3 hours they observed my child doing everything from interacting with me to playing with toys. At the end of the observation, a doctor walked in and spoke the word "autism" over my child. My cookie jar was empty. The last thing I remember that doctor saying to me was a list of things he would never do and then it faded to the sound of nothing.....nothing....nothing. I could finally define oppression. That word carried so much weight with it that I could barely pick it up and carry it out the door. The only thing I remember was picking up my new baby, taking the hand of that beautiful little boy and walking to my car in pure silence. As soon as I sat down in my car, the tears began to pour. They poured for weeks. I could barely crawl out of bed. I was lost...lost in a world called autism and I couldn't find my way back to the surface. Then came God. After a few weeks of walking in and out of my bedroom like an old hag in curlers and a bathrobe, my husband came in and simply spoke, "Melissa, your going to have to get yourself together for our kids. He is still our son. Nothing has changed." That struck me to the core. The next morning I sat up out of bed and put my feet on the floor with a goal to make a difference. His doctor doesn't think he will ever ride a bike? Watch him. She said he will never talk? Wanna make a bet! She says he will never understand faith or things like God? Wrong. I was a momma on a mission. Suddenly I was at another level of autism PTSD! I was still in my curlers and bathrobe, its just now I was on my computer and in books instead of rolling around in a black oblivion in my bed! Then it happened. I found it. The Apple iPad. There were more articles and stories of people finally helping their children speak than I had time to read! He needed one, I had to get him one, but they were $599!!

That was where my mission was founded. I knew he needed an iPad, but I didn't know how to get him one due to my husband just coming off of a very long layoff and my being on maternity leave. Then it hit me....cookies. People love my cookies. Ill bake! That night I was lying in bed trying to figure out a plan for my cookies and his iPad when it hit me like a ton of bricks that I wasn't the only mom in this place of desperation. Tears began to burn down my cheeks as God began to lay all of these other mothers on my heart. Mothers just like myself, desperate to hear their child say those words "I love you." So, I called my mom, and started emailing friends about my idea of baking cookies. I was blown away at the response I received. All of my friends were willing to help me bake cookies in hopes of raising enough funds for 2 iPads! That night Cookies for iPads was born!

Our very first dollar made!

Our very first weekend we raised enough money to give out 3 iPads. He received his iPad! 7 days later Chase said his first sentence, and soon followed up with the words i longed to hear, "I love you mommy!" My cookie jar was finally full again. I was blessed to have such an amazing team join me in Chases's programming through a school named Spectrum Behavior Solutions. he has another autism angel there by the name of Becca who has helped C4 i reach a whole new level by providing therapy and apps to children in our area with ipad access.

The word began to spread pretty quickly about our little group that consisted of me, my mom, my best friend Angie, Chase's speech therapist Leah, and her cousin Liz and grandma. Before we knew it, we had mothers from all over the state contacting us in hopes of getting an iPad for their child. Cookies started to arrive in droves. Fast forward a year later and we are now a worldwide group who sells cookies that are home baked from all over the world. I have met so many other mothers who have children on the spectrum, but believe in the power of a puzzle cookie! A year and half later after that first cookie sale, we have presented 53 children on the spectrum with an iPad! 100% have made accomplishments because of their device. More than 3/4 of them have began to verbalize. I need another cookie jar!

 

Now I fill my cookie jars with hope. With every cookie I bake, I bake in a little bit of hope. Hope that one day that 1:88 will only be a number associated with my cookie jar and no longer the children I love. Some of these children I am blessed to see daily, some I won't meet until the future, and others I'll never meet in person, but one thing is for sure...as long as God keeps creating these special gifts, ill keep baking! Can't let the sweetness or the hope jar ever run on empty! Thank you to every baker, mom, grandma, dad, grandpa, and family who has helped make Cookies for iPads a possibility. Turn your ovens on 350 and help us bake up some hope!

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

Paying it Forward...with cookies

 

 

In my previous three posts,

I shared about some amazing things

that happened to my family and I .

 

First, I had an Auction, and raised money

for my son's class.

 

Then

 

Collin was blessed with a

new iPad, you can read about it

Here

 

Then....my AMAZING friends, surprised

us with love, encouragement, cookies and gift card

 

If you want to cry tears of joy, you can read all about it Here!

 

 

Weeks before all of this happened, Collin and I planned

to mail cookies to

Cookies for iPads

for their bake sale.

 

 

Baking cookies for them, has always made me feel good,

knowing that every single dollar raised, goes to purchase

an iPad for a deserving child.

 

Wanna see what I sent?

 

 

Well...

of course I made

Puzzle Cookies!

 

 

 

 

Then I made some pumpkin cookies

but I HAD to include a puzzle piece!

 

 

 

 

And I made one more cookie design...

 

And I have to say...I LOVE THEM!

 

Remember me telling you about

Plastics in Print?

Well, Patrick and the PIP gang are amazing!

 

They make custom cookie cutters and presses,

and the customer service is TOP NOTCH!

 

Well, they made a cookie press, of the

Cookies for iPad logo, of course I bought one!

And I used it for the cookies I sent them!

I have to say, once again, I am in LOVE with

PIP!

AND...I used

This recipe shared by the

legendary Sugarbelle!

OMG! Talk about Yummy!

You HAVE to try these cookies!

WOW!

So...using the amazing cookie press, and the yummy cookie recipe

I made cookies!



 

Collin and I will be making cookie for them again,

in December, for a VERY SPECIAL event...shhh..

don't tell, it's a secret!

 

 

Until next time....

 

 

 

Hugs

Kim

 



Humbled (Part Two)

Thanks for coming back to hear

"The Rest of the Story"

In case you missed the first part

you can read about it Here

So...the Auction ended on a Saturday,

I was so happy, so humbled, so grateful!

I was walking on cloud nine!

Little did I know what was about to happen!

I came home from work that Monday

and there was a package waiting for me,

when I saw it was from Cookies for iPads,
 I was

pretty excited, the t-shirts I had ordered were HERE!

If you are interested in purchasing a shirt of your own,
you can find information on their Facebook Page
Aren't they cool?

They are so cute, I ordered three!

If you do not know about Cookies for iPads,
I wrote about them Here

They are an amazing group in Ohio. who,
bake cookies and sell them to raise money
to purchase iPads for Autistic Children.

This is an organization near and dear to my heart,
I support them in any way that I can.

So, I set the box on the table, changed clothes, read the mail,

you know the stuff you do when you get home from work.

The I sat down to look at my t-shirts,

I opened the box, and there was a card

Dear Kim,

On behalf of Cookies for iPads, here is an iPad for Collin!
How can I say thank you for being a part of helping us reach 20 iPads, or all of the cookies you and your cookie friends sent?
Well…by sending your amazing son the iPad he deserves! May God rich him greatly with this device in ways we can not yet see!

Love,
Melissa and the Team at Cookies for iPads

In the box was an iPad for Collin!

Umm..lets just say what happened next was not a pretty site

I grabbed the box, my phone and ran out to the back yard!

Crazy women?

NO!

A woman who was crying like a baby!

And, I did not want Collin to see me!

I cried for a good 10 minutes, and called my husband,

of course I was crying, and he got scared, and when I finally found

the words to tell him, he rushed home, and when he got here

he was teary eyed too.

Then I called my mom, and my sister, and emailed my bestie.

I was just so humbled, and in total shock!

I was totally surprised, I had no idea

no idea what so ever!

I was expecting t-shirts

NOT

an iPad!

So, after we gained control of our emotions, we called Collin

into the kitchen, and I read him the card

His eyes got HUGE!

"For ME?" he asked

"Yes, Collin, for you, because you are special!"

I promise, he is excited......I just forgot to tell him to SMILE!

Collin knows all about Cookies for iPads, when I bake cookies for them

he always helps, he know we bake cookies to raise money to buy

iPads for "special" children.

He KNOWS cookies buy iPads for "special" children.

BUT!

Collin does not know HE is one of those special children.

Well, he knows...but he never thought he would get one,

never asked for one

never wanted one.

So..he took it into his room, and my husband and I went to the store

to get him a case for it.

When we came home, he was watching TV, and the iPad was on the foot of his bed.

When I asked him how he liked it, his answer shocked me.

He told me to
"Send it back, I do not deserve it, give it to someone who REALLY needs it"

Broke my heart.

It took several hours to convince him, that he DID deserve it, that he WAS special

and that they WANTED him to have it!

Later that night, I could hear him in his room

"They gave me an iPad, because I am special"

"They gave me an iPad, because I am special"

"They gave me an iPad, because I am special"

So...after he fell asleep, and the house was quiet, I jumped online, shared the story, and chatted

with my cookie friends...they were all so nice...so supportive, so happy for Collin.

I was so worried about sharing this with anyone.
Why?

Well, I was worried that people would think that I only supported
Cookies for iPads,
to GET an iPad for Collin.

Would they think I had selfish motives in my support of them?

Would they think Collin did not deserve it?

Would they get sick of hearing my constantly talking about
Cookies for iPads, and Autism in general?

I will admit I was scared to share about it, publicly, for several days.
Only our family and my close cookie friends, online knew about it.

But they were soo supportive, and encouraging, and kind, and encouraged me to
step out of my comfort zone, and share it with everyone.

So after a couple of day's, I shared on my personal Facebook page
and on The Cookie Puzzle page.

I HAD TO!

I Had to, because what happened
next, simply BLEW MY MIND!

Until next time,

Hugs,

Kim