Good Friend is helping create a culture of acceptance through art!

What a third birthday present this will be for Good Friend, Inc.!  A 20' x 50' (approx.) mural at the gateway to downtown Waukesha's arts-shopping-dining district by muralist Christine Vincent will have a team of remarkable junior artists helping on August 7.  Denise Schamens is bringing students with special education needs, including autism, from all over the city, together with their school friends to help paint the leaf border along the bottom.

We want all 17 of Waukesha's elementary schools represented, but we need to identify participants still from Hadfield, Lowell, Saratoga, and Summit View.  Please email denise@goodfriendinc.com if you know someone who might be interested in having his or her child be a part of this inspiring project.

By working on a mural depicting Waukesha's history, we'll be acknowledging our past.  We are celebrating our present through our junior artists and the special friendships they share.  And as we show the community how valuable people of ALL abilities are, we are treasuring their future.

You can join this collaboration by making a tax-deductible donation through Good Friend between now and August 7!  Just go to www.goodfriendinc.com and click the Donate button.  Put "Waukesha mural" in the Purpose field so we designate the funds accordingly.  You can also write a check payable to Good Friend, Inc., Attn: Waukesha Historical Mural Project, 808 Cavalier Dr., Waukesha, WI 53186.  Donations of $100 or more will be acknowledged on the wall upon request.  Donations of $500 or more will be rewarded with an art-quality print of the finished masterpiece.  Want to sponsor a building?  For $1,000, your family or company name will go right under it!

For more information, check these out:
Facebook Page
Blog
http://www.waukeshamural.com/

Middle School Student Casting Call, May 21

In response to a Community Conversation held in Waukesha in March, Good Friend is creating a video targeted for middle school audiences. As such, co-founders Chelsea Budde and Denise Schamens are inviting youth ages 12-15, grades 6-8 (’09/’10 school year), to audition for a part in the as-yet-untitled production. The casting call will be held at Citizens Bank of Mukwonago Training Center, 2109 Corporate Dr. (Hwy. 59 & Center Rd.),Waukesha, from 4-6 p.m., on Friday, May 21.

This will be the second video in Good Friend’s autism awareness-acceptance-empathy line. It will be used both during Good Friend’s staff and student services, as well as sold to the general public. Our current DVD for elementary school has sold nearly 150 copies in 14 states, and has been screened for thousands of people since its 2007 release.

Those accepted for the project will neither receive compensation nor have any right or expectation to royalties or dividends in the future. What people who are part of this project will have is the satisfaction of helping create a better social atmosphere for all kids in middle school!

Good Friend is looking specifically for students with ASD who would be comfortable being interviewed on-screen, plus a handful of “regular education” students to act out parts of the script. Only one of those latter roles will involve speaking, but all auditions will include reading a portion of the script. All auditions will be taped for the purpose of determining suitability for the available roles.

Parents or guardians of interested students should contact Denise (phone 262-391-1369, or email denise@goodfriendinc.com) to schedule their child’s audition time or with any questions. Slots are reserved on a first-come, first-served basis.

One big, happy ohana ...

This Sunday, at least 150 people will come to Waukesha and participate in Good Friend's 2nd annual "Hoa Aloha Autism Awareness Bowling Event". And if it's anything like last year, it will be a fun, if not downright inspiring, day! But even the weeks leading up to this event have been so meaningful for our nonprofit.

We're seeing families of bowlers rallying around this cause in unprecedented ways. One bowler's grandfather challenged his family to donate generously, promising to match their collective donations -- an he HAS! For this family, it's not about the iPad promised to the Top Fundraiser -- it's about creating autism awareness, teaching acceptance of differences, and fostering empathy for students with ASD among their typically-developing peers.

Will you please join us? Whether you register your team today, come to the bake sale on Sunday, buy tickets for the Brewers-Cubs game raffle, or just donate to one of the bowlers, we want you to feel the spirit of aloha in this big happy ohana we call Good Friend.

Online donations and registrations are due by midnight Thursday (TODAY). All other registrations and donations can be turned in on Sunday. Call 414-510-0385 with any questions. Happy National Autism Awareness Month!

Registration Now Open for Bowling Event, April 18!

I don't know that we'll be able to capture the beauty of hibiscus and the warmth of Oahu, but I know we'll have the spirit of Aloha at Sunset Bowl and Entertainment Center in Waukesha, Wis., on Sunday, April 18, from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m.! Good Friend's 2nd annual "Hoa Aloha Autism Awareness Bowling Event" is now taking team registrations. You can register your team ONLINE this year through our website. Team registration is a $100 donation, which can be sponsored by a business or individual. Choose your start time: 11:30 a.m. or 1:45 p.m. GREAT prizes this year, including an Apple iPad, passes to Discovery World, and more! Get more info here: http://www.goodfriendinc.com/alohaInfo.html

DVD up for 2010 ASA Excellence in Media Award!

"How Can I Be a Good Friend to Someone with Autism?" is being nominated for the Autism Society of America's Excellence in Media Award this year! We need a statement from you about how it's impacted your classroom. Please send a well-written sentence or two to chelsea@goodfriendinc.com in the next few days to send along with the nomination essay.

What do you say, Middle School?

Have you heard that 1:110 children in the U.S. has an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)? That’s a lot of kids, when you

compare to most other childhood conditions. Good Friend is dedicated to making sure these students with ASD have good friends in their community. For the past two years, we’ve been conducting staff and student services in elementary schools to create autism awareness, teach acceptance of differences, and foster empathy for students with ASD. Chelsea Budde and Denise Schamens, co-founders, have been to state, regional, and national conferences on autism and education as parents and professionals and have heard a running theme: Good Friend needs a product and service at the middle school level tailored to them! So let’s talk about it!

• WHO we're looking for: 100 positive people who have something to say. A mix of 50 students, some with autism and/or other special education needs and some “regular ed” students. Plus 50 adults: 10 parents, 10 general education teachers, 10 special educators, 10 paraprofessionals, and 10 other school service providers (including therapists, guidance counselors, social workers, bus drivers, etc.).
• WHAT we're planning: A Community Conversation, “Let’s Talk Good Friends and Autism”, in the World Café style (www.theworldcafe.com/what.htm). A light dinner and refreshments will be served.
• WHY we're hosting this event: The target audience for Good Friend’s video will be students in grades 6-8, ages 12-15, so it needs to answer the questions this group has. The curriculum developed for the staff and students needs to be relevant to their experience.
• WHEN it's scheduled: Thursday, March 11, 2010; 6-8 p.m.
• WHERE we'll meet: Steinhafels’ Community Room, W231 N1013 County Hwy. F, Waukesha
• HOW to get involved: Contact Denise (phone 262-391-1369, or email denise@goodfriendinc.com) by February 8 and provide your name, age, phone number, email address, and category (as described above in WHO) *. *This information will be kept confidential within the Community Conversation.

Spaces are reserved on a first-come, first-served basis, so RSVP quickly!

This event was made possible by a generous grant from the Natural Supports Project of the

Waisman Center and University of Wisconsin-Madison.

$3,500 is great ... but $25K would be better!

We are so thankful for each and every person who came our our "Tackling Autism Awareness" event earlier this month. You helped us raise $3,500 to promote autism awareness, acceptance, and empathy! And now we have another opportunity to raise funds ...

Chase Community Giving is offering $25,000 to 100 nonprofit organizations ... and we want to be one of them! Please vote for Good Friend Inc. (zip code 53186). It only takes a second, but without LOTS of votes from each of our supporters and all of their friends, it can't happen. Please spread the word!