Archive for December, 2018
Dec
21
Dear Readers,
Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a safe and happy 2019!
Love,
Julie & Co
xx
Dear friends,
As the year draws to a close, we’re taking a moment to look back at everything we’ve achieved since January. This has been a year of nonstop advocacy – answering our action alerts, you have written comments on regulations, talked to your elected officials, and constantly gotten the word out on social media about issues impacting our lives. Over the last year, you’ve put a lot of work into making the world a better place, and we’ve been grateful to work alongside you every step of the way. Here are just a few of the ways we’ve made a difference together:
- During the spring and summer of this year, we organized the #StopTheShock campaign to end torture at the Judge Rotenberg Center. Thanks to your engagement, the FDA was flooded with calls and we were able to deliver over 290,000 signatures calling on them to ban electric shock devices. We are not done advocating on this crucial issue, but thanks to your advocacy, we have begun to see results: this fall, the FDA announced plans to finalize the ban.
- We worked together to get out the vote by spreading the word, sharing resources, and making sure voters with disabilities got everything we needed to access the polls.
- We showed the administration that disabled immigrants are welcome here by speaking out against the proposed “public charge†rule. After a successful campaign, the comment period closed with 210,000 submitted comments opposing the discriminatory regulation – which the government must now respond to before it can move forward with the proposed rule.
Even when we’re not reaching out to you to take action, you are part of everything we do at ASAN. We depend on the support of our grassroots to keep our offices open and allow us to run programs and produce resources. Here are some of the ways your donations have helped us support the community this year:
- We promoted autistic student leadership on college campuses via our 8th annual Autism Campus Inclusion leadership academy.
- We published an anthology documenting the experiences of people who learned that they are autistic as adults. This book will be a critical resource for many adults who are just coming into our community, letting them know they are not alone.
- We released an Easy Read toolkit on Employment First policy. This toolkit is part of our ongoing efforts to make policy advocacy accessible to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Together, we are changing the world—and none of it would be possible without you. Here are some ways you can help us do even more in 2019:
- Become a member of ASAN.
- Donate to keep us going. You can pledge as little as one dollar a month for recurring donations, or pledge a one-time gift.
- Start a Facebook fundraiser for ASAN. This is an easy way to help us out even if you are not able to donate.
- Take our end-of-year grassroots survey to tell us about your advocacy, and give feedback on our website and resources.
- Share our content on social media or in person with anyone you think could use it.
Thank you for your hard work, for your activism, and for believing that advocacy is for everyone. With your help, in 2019 we can make sure there is Nothing About Us, Without Us!
Best wishes,
Zoe Gross
Director of Operations
Autistic Self Advocacy Network