Support Our Work

WHY FAMILIES NEED THRIVE!

There are no local postsecondary habilitation, training or vocational programs for people who have autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or intellectual or developmental disabilities (I/DD) with comorbid challenging behaviors. There are no behavioral stabilization or specialized psychiatric treatment programs designed specifically for them. Individuals with severe challenging behaviors are often rejected for residential placements.

Most of these people live in their family homes. Sadly, for the most part, they rarely leave their homes. They are very often excluded from social activities and cultural amenities that are available to the general public. Their homes become virtual prisons—silos floating on islands that are disconnected from the very communities they live in. They are technically a part of, yet practically very much apart from their communities.

With few available appropriate programs, services and supports, people with autism or I/DD with comorbid challenging behaviors often end up with nothing to do and nowhere to go, so they, for all intents and purposes, disappear from productive life. It doesn’t have to be this way, and it shouldn’t be. With your help, THRIVE! is going to transform the lives of individuals and families who are impacted by comorbid challenging behaviors by providing the resources, supports and services they need to fully participate in and enjoy every aspect of family and community life; eliminating barriers to inclusion; and creating opportunities for personal and professional enrichment.

WHAT WE INTEND TO DO

Modeled after the best in class programs for reducing the frequency, severity, intensity and duration of challenging behaviors, THRIVE! will provide the gold standard in evidence-based behavior management services to the individuals and families it will serve. THRIVE! will identify the causes and functions of challenging behaviors and develop data-based, person-centered plans to effectively and dramatically reduce incidences of challenging behaviors.

That’s just the beginning. THRIVE! Enrichment Services will do so much more to help individuals with comorbid challenging behaviors live their best lives and do so without limits. THRIVE! will provide a wide variety of programs, resources, services and supports for individuals with autism or I/DD and comorbid challenging behaviors, their families, caregivers, service providers and communities.

THRIVE! will provide intensive habilitation programs that focus on achieving independence in activities of daily living, developing functional communication skills and preparing for competitive work opportunities. THRIVE! will support its participants’ entrepreneurial ambitions with a Maker’s Lab, a Creator’s Studio and technical assistance.

THRIVE! will provide onsite medical and dental services by clinicians who have been specially trained to work effectively with people who have autism or I/DD with comorbid challenging behaviors. THRIVE! will provide speech, communication and occupational therapy services. THRIVE! will provide clinical, creative and expressive therapies. THRIVE! will provide counseling, resources, respite and support for families and caregivers.

THRIVE! will train law police officers, first responders, healthcare professionals, business owners and educators to safely, calmly and effectively work with people who have autism or I/DD with comorbid challenging behaviors. THRIVE! will help businesses and public facilities to create environments and programs that accept, welcome and support people who have comorbid challenging behaviors.

THRIVE! will work with local hospitals to create supports for people who have autism or I/DD with comorbid challenging behaviors. THRIVE! will work with families to identify appropriate specialized inpatient programs for people who have severe challenging behaviors or dangerous behaviors who need immediate, intensive treatment for acute behavior escalations.  THRIVE! will operate a behavior crisis hotline and a mobile crisis intervention unit that will travel to homes and community sites to provide emergency behavior de-escalation services.

THRIVE! will provide recreational and social activities, including swimming, horseback riding, rollerblading, ice skating, bowling, movies, live performances and community outings for individuals with comorbid challenging behaivors and their families in a supportive, judgement-free environment.

THRIVE! NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT

As you can see, THRIVE! has big, bold, ambitious plans to create life-enhancing supports and services for individuals and families that are affected by autism or I/DD with comorbid challenging behaviors. We have a lot of work to do to accomplish our lofty goals. But we need your help in order to do so.

THRIVE! is currently raising funds to acquire and customize a facility to house our programs and hire the necessary staff to begin providing services. We need your help to make our vision a reality and to begin transforming lives, eliminating barriers to inclusion and creating opportunities. There are many ways you can help put THRIVE! Enrichment Services on the fast track to helping these individuals and families. Please explore each of the following sections and click on the links to find out the various ways you can help THRIVE! transform lives.

WAYS YOU CAN FINANCIALLY SUPPORT THRIVE!

DONATE TO THRIVE!

You can make a donation to THRIVE! through a variety of means, including our website, our GoFundMe fundraiser, Paypal, our donation links, text message, mobile app, Facebook, Instagram, fundraising platforms and mail.

 

RECOMMEND THRIVE! FOR FUNDING

If you are in a position to select, nominate, recommend or suggest THRIVE! for funding, please do so. Many employers offer to support nonprofits that are championed by their employees, and some even match employee donations. You may be affiliated with a professional association, labor union, fraternal organization or civic group that supports nonprofit organizations that are favored by its members. Or, perhaps you contribute to a donor advised fund. We need your help to accomplish our goal of transforming lives, and we promise we will put every donation we receive to good use. Please keep us in my when an opportunity to support us with funding arises.

 

SUPPORT THRIVE! THROUGH YOUR DONOR-ADVISED FUND (DAF)

A donor-advised fund (DAF) is a centralized charitable account. It allows individuals, families, and businesses to make tax-deductible charitable donations of cash, publicly-traded stock, and, in some cases, certain illiquid assets, to a public charity that sponsors a DAF program. It also provides a convenient and tax-efficient method for donors to manage their charitable giving.

A DAF allows donors take an immediate tax deduction and recommend grants over time to IRS-qualified 501(c)(3) public charities. Most DAFs accept donations of long-term appreciated securities and other assets, and donors can advise how the funds are invested, which may allow tax-free growth, and could result in more money the charities donors choose to support.

There are a number of advantages to managing your giving through donor-advised funds. DAF sponsors simplify the giving process by handling all recordkeeping, disbursements, and tax receipts. Contributions to DAFs are tax-deductible, and any investment growth in the DAF is tax-free. Donating through a DAF eliminates capital gains taxes and allowing you to support several charities from one block of stock. There is no cost to establish a donor-advised fund, but there may be a minimum initial charitable contributions to establish the DAF.

 

RAISE FUNDS FOR THRIVE! ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Create a fundraiser for THRIVE! on Facebook or
Instagram.

 

PLAY GAMES TO RAISE FUNDS FOR THRIVE!

Raise life-changing funds for families that are impacted by challenging behaviors while playing your favorite games.

 

SUPPORT THRIVE! THROUGH PASSIVE GIVING

You can help THRIVE! raise funds by doing things you already do every day like buying groceries, shopping online, searching the Internet or using your credit card.

 

DONATE CRYPTOCURRENCY AND OTHER DIGITAL ASSETS

Endaoment  allows you to donate cryptocurrency and over 1,000 other types of digital assets to help THRIVE! transform lives. Endaoment offers donors the flexibility of making direct donations to organizations or giving through its community funds or donor-advised funds.

 

OTHER WAYS TO HELP THRIVE! TRANSFORM LIVES

 

MAKE AN IN-KIND DONATION

We are currently seeking a facility to house and operate our programs, as well as a vehicle for our mobile crisis response unit. Please contact us if you or someone you know is willing to donate land, a school or other similar building, architectural services, engineering services, construction services, a van, a bus, a recreational vehicle, or vehicle maintenance and repair services to THRIVE! You may reach us by sending an email to [email protected] with “In-Kind Donation” in the subject field.

SPONSOR US

If you, your company or your organization is interested in becoming a THRIVE! sponsor, please send us a message with the word “SPONSORSHIP” in the subject field to discuss how we can work together to help people who have comorbid challenging behaviors live their best lives. Our direct email address is [email protected].

BECOME A THRIVE! PATRON ON PATREON

Support THRIVE! by joining our Patreon community.

PURCHASE THRIVE! GEAR

Proudly wear or carry your support for THRIVE! everywhere you go when you purchase our t-shirts, tote bags and other merchandise at our online store. Bonfire will donate a portion of the proceeds from every sale to help support our work.

VOLUNTEER

Roll up your sleeves and help THRIVE! make life better for people with comorbid challenging behaviors by becoming a volunteer. We would welcome the opportunity to work with a variety of passionate, committed volunteers. At this time, we are seeking volunteers who have experience working with people who have comorbid challenging behaviors, especially those who have professional backgrounds as board certified behavior analysts (BCBAs), registered behavior technicians (RBTs), psychiatrists, psychologists, general and specialty physicians, dentists, nurses, social workers, clinical therapists and teachers. If you care about people who have challenging behaviors and are interested in volunteering with THRIVE!, please send us an email with the word “VOLUNTEER” in the subject to [email protected].

SPREAD THE WORD

Tell everyone you know about THRIVE! and tell them to visit us at www.iwillhelpyouthrive.org to learn more about us, donate and volunteer. We are very excited about helping individuals and families that are impacted by comorbid challenging behaviors and we want everyone to know it.

DONATE TO AND SHARE OUR THRIVE! GOFUNDME FUNDRAISER

Contribute to our GoFundMe Fundraiser and encourage your family members, friends, colleagues, followers and social media network to do the same.

SPONSOR US

If you, your company or your organization is interested in becoming a THRIVE! sponsor, please contact us to discuss how we can work together to help people who have comorbid challenging behaviors THRIVE!

BECOME A THRIVE! PATRON ON PATREON

Support THRIVE! by joining our Patreon community.

PURCHASE THRIVE! GEAR

Proudly wear or carry your support for THRIVE! everywhere you go when you purchase our t-shirts, tote bags and other merchandise at our online store. Bonfire will donation a portion of the proceeds from every sale to help support our work.


RAISE FUNDS FOR THRIVE!

Create a fundraiser for THRIVE! on Facebook, Instagram, DonorDrive, Tiltify or StreamLabs Charity.

VOLUNTEER

Roll up your sleeves and help THRIVE! make life better for people with comorbid challenging behaviors by becoming a volunteer. We would welcome the opportunity to work with a variety of passionate, committed volunteers. At this time, we are seeking volunteers who have experience working with people who have comorbid challenging behaviors, especially those who have professional backgrounds as board certified behavior analysts (BCBAs), registered behavior technicians (RBTs), psychiatrists, psychologists, general and specialty physicians, dentists, nurses, social workers, clinical therapists and teachers. If you care about people who have challenging behaviors and are interested in volunteering with THRIVE!, please get in touch with us.

SPREAD THE WORD

Tell everyone you know about THRIVE! and tell them to visit us at www.iwillhelpyouthrive.org to learn more about us, donate and volunteer. We are very excited about helping individuals and families that are impacted by comorbid challenging behaviors and we want everyone to know it!.