April 2022: Autism Acceptance Month Fundraiser!
April 2022: Autism Acceptance Month Fundraiser!
April is commonly associated with Spring and marks the end of blistering winter transitioning to the scorching Summer. At the same time, it is the month to celebrate awareness and acceptance of our brothers and sisters with Autism.
Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition of variable severity with lifelong effects that can be recognized from early childhood, chiefly characterized by difficulties with social interaction and communication and by restricted or repetitive patterns of thought and behavior (Oxford Dictionaries). Dreamscape Foundation is an organization focusing on accessibility for people with disability.
We know living with a disability can negatively impact one’s chances of success in education and employment. But we believe that we have the power to do something about it and knowing is not enough. While nothing can equip anyone for an unanticipated disability, we can take an action to offer hope. We can take steps to help the disabled community adjust to today’s world in a way that allows them to move forward. We invite you to join us in our fundraising event for the Autism Acceptance Month with our 4 awesome streamers starting this
Meeting the Dream Team!
First on our list of four streamers is Lennic, influenced by one of his best friends who’s also streaming, Lennic started streaming and found that it worked for him within just a few months. He is described by his community as chill and laid back with a focus on gameplay.
Lord, mostly known as Lordsbathwater on Twitch, began streaming around a year ago mainly for his friends who wanted to watch. Eventually, a couple more people started tuning in and he started making new friends to hang out with. His community would describe him as a dumb doodoo who does stupid stuff and laughs at himself.
Another streamer that will be joining this event is “the imfamous test subject but the rest of the world knows me as imfamousx1x. She initially stepped into streaming through a friend by the name of DarkZero_Omega and has been streaming for 5 years since then.
Our Mission
Dreamscape Foundation understands the challenges of millions and many more people across the globe that is affected by disabilities. The struggle is right in front of us, yet too often our eyes miss it. Our Mission is to actively work to ensure that anyone who lives with this struggle is provided with the tools and resources needed to meet their educational, employment, and independent living goals. We share these sentiments with our 4 streamers. When asked how disabilities impacted their life or the lives of people around them? One of our streamers responded with –
“My grandma! She met with an accident when I was a kid and was disabled for the rest of her life. Seeing a loved one going through such tribulations as a kid and growing up, it was disheartening and impacted me a lot in my teenage years.” – Lord
Join the Fun!
In line with this month’s event, we will be sharing half of the gathered donations to My Autism Connection, Inc. A 501(c)(3) organization located in Southwest Florida that offers services to autistic adults between ages 18 and 50. So we invite you to gather and unite to raise $ 2,500 for Dreamscape Foundation’s Autism Acceptance Month Event. Join us (April 8 to April 15) on Twitch and Tilitfy!
If you have anything to give, please consider how much of an impact you can make for someone’s livelihood. Depending on how much you donate, you will be eligible to win a variety of prizes. From redeemable Steam keys, to Dreamscape branded T-Shirts, Magnets & Drawstring Backpacks. If you are unable to lend anything, just know that Sharing The Dream is all that counts!
« PreviousMay 2022: Global Accessibility Awareness Day Charity Stream Marathon!
May 2022: Global Accessibility Awareness Day Charity Stream Marathon!
Global Accessibility Awareness Day is a global event that provides visibility on digital access and inclusion for people with disabilities. This started from a very small celebration, with 16 in-person events worldwide in 2012, and bloomed to more than 200 annual events each year. Born out of the belief that every user, including people with disabilities, deserves a first-rate digital experience on the web. That belief made more people think and learn about digital access and inclusion.
Dreamscape Foundation believes in making today’s world more accessible for people with all types of disabilities. We focus on visual impairments because it is the heart of our mission as part of how Dreamscape foundation originally was founded. In line with this celebration, we have gathered a few streamers to Join us and raise $1500 to help improve accessibility for disabled people.
Making The World Accessible For All
The majority of people are not aware that millions of Americans and many more across the globe are affected to live with some form of severe disability. In reality, one out of five Americans is experiencing struggles of surviving with a disability. Our goal through this event is to raise awareness, funds, and actions for the improvement of these people’s lives.
As a charity for people with disabilities, we fight to restore the independence of the individuals we help. We believe that they should never be a prisoner of their impairments.
Gathering Around A Great Cause
We appreciate everyone who will join us at this event, especially the streamers who responded to our call for help as a part of giving back to Dreamscape’s disabled community. Our Global Accessibility Awareness Day event will be full of fun from different communities all around the globe. Let us all gather and unite to raise $1,500 for Dreamscape Foundation!
According to Twitch Streamer MechromancerGaige, accessibility means making it possible for people to have access to things they need and that make their life easier/better. Either it being money for a surgery they really need or receiving prosthetics to make them walk again for example.
Join us (starting this Friday, for a week straight) on Twitch and Tilitfy! If you have anything to give, please consider how much of an impact you can make on someone’s livelihood. Depending on how much you donate, you will be eligible to win a variety of prizes. From redeemable Steam keys to Dreamscape branded T-Shirts, Magnets & Drawstring Backpacks. If you are unable to lend anything, just know that Sharing the Dream is all that counts!
« PreviousNext »How a Father’s Loving Act Went International
How a Father’s Loving Act Went International
To a father, his children are a true gift and treasure. They always wish the best for them and would do anything to see them happy. For Gavin Leonard, he just wanted a way to be closer to his daughter and create memories that would last a life time. About 2 years ago, he began writing children’s books to read with his daughter. He never expected this small fatherly act would connect him with people and organizations across the Globe.
Gavin’s Inspiration and Motivation
From the moment Gavin laid eyes on his daughter, he knew he would do anything for her. As she got a little bigger, he started thinking of a way to remember the adventures they had together for when she was older. A friend told him how he began a blog to keep track of all the adventures he had with his kids, Gavin couldn’t help but love the idea. He began doing just that and to his surprise, found people were actually interested in following his posts. At the time, Gavin didn’t know where this would lead but luckily enough, his love for his daughter would open doors he couldn’t imagine. When family and friends came to visit, they would always comment on how beautiful she was and that she could be an actress or model. Gavin knew they meant well, but to him it was a bit strange to think of a new born in this way. Additionally, they would always call her a “princess” but Gavin began replying, “she’s not JUST a princess”, for he knew she would be able to do anything she dreamed of. The reason Gavin felt this way came from the books he read to her. To him, they were always the damsel in distress and in need of being saved. Not his daughter! She would be strong and capable on her own. He often made comments about this to his wife, until one day she said, “if you don’t like the books you read… then write your own!?”. And so, he did!The ‘Not Just a Princess Book Series’ is Born
Gavin made a plan and wanted his princesses to get away from the typical fairy tale and make it more real. So, what better title for the series than “Not Just a Princess”? His initial plan was to have his daughter (the princess), have a job and need to solve a problem that came up. But after a while, he knew she would need help and began creating new princesses. The common theme throughout the previous 6-book series is the princesses’ strengths, smarts, and abilities to work together to help one another overcome their problem. He wanted a story for everyone and made the princesses different in all aspects including being different culturally, appearance, etc. He never expected the books to be published but his daughter loved them so much he figured why not try.The Newest Princess and the International Connections she made
Most recently, he decided to go further and include a second princess with a disability. Gavin wanted to show the world the truth of people differently abled. Instead of talking about a disability, he wanted to spread awareness that people have all different strengths and weaknesses no matter who they are. He thought back to his time living with family in China. While there, he spent a lot of time with his niece Nora, who has down syndrome and learned a lot for himself. When I had the opportunity to speak with him, he told me a story of what truly opened his eyes. “Nora loved water”, he said. Her and her siblings would often swim and play. One day when he was with them, he had been throwing Nora’s siblings into the water for fun, when Nora asked to go next. He hesitated out of care and in fear she may get hurt or scared. But her father set the record straight and what he said to Gavin really stuck with him. He said, “she’s just like her sisters and she can be thrown too.” Gavin went and threw her next and after seeing her joy and excitement, he realized nobody should ever be treated differently like that. In honor of his niece, this story follows Nora, a champion swimmer with down syndrome, and how she helps the others solve a problem. But it doesn’t stop there. For this story he wanted to do more than just spread awareness but instead, use it to give back in a better way. Gavin began looking for local charities and connected with Down Syndrome Ireland and the Special Olympics. After hearing all that Special Olympics does for their athletes across the globe, they decided to begin promoting it worldwide. That led to Gavin connecting with us at the Dreamscape Foundation and other nonprofits as well. He explained he planned to donate all proceeds from the book’s sales to different charities and wanted to connect to as many as possible.The Release and Final Details
Should all go as planned, the book is anticipated to be released in Ireland on October 24th, 2019. But you can purchase anytime through Dreamscape Foundation’s direct link!! The charities involved as of now include the Dreamscape Foundation, Special Olympics: Ireland, UK, Down Syndrome: Ireland, and US, and Brainwave UK. All of these organizations will have their own links available to purchase after the book is released! Those links will be used to directly support that organizations, or by purchasing from Not Just a Princess directly the proceeds will be distributed evenly to all organizations. That is how what started out as a way for Gavin Leonard to share time with his daughter, turned into an international movement to spread awareness and give back to the disabled community. Gavin is an amazing guy and has nothing but love in his heart. On a final note, what he wishes to highlight most is how excited he is to be working with various nonprofit organizations on this project and to have the opportunity to raise funds for their continued good work! To keep up with Gavin and the Not Just a Princess book series you can follow them on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Written by: Nicholas Sibilia « PreviousNext »6 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Down Syndrome
6 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Down Syndrome
Education starts with awareness. That’s why we’re taking the time to cover some of the disabilities in today’s society you may have heard of, but know surprisingly little about them. Our blog series starts with Down syndrome.
Read along as we cover some basic facts about this disability, it’s features, and risk factors.
6 Facts About Down Syndrome
What is Down syndrome, exactly? Get better acquainted with this genetic condition with these 5 helpful facts.Down syndrome is causedby extra copies of chromosome 21.
This extra chromosome may be partial or whole, and can lead to one of three different types of Down syndrome: Trisomy 21, Mosaic Down Syndrome or Translocation Down Syndrome.Trisomy 21 is the most common form of this condition.
Trisomy 21 occurs when three copies of chromosome occur instead of two. It accounts for 95% of cases. Mosaic Down Syndrome and Translocation Down Syndrome are much rarer, accounting for 4% and 1% of all cases.Symptoms can vary greatly from one case to another.
Down syndrome isn’t the same across the board. Cases vary from mild to severe. Symptoms may include some or all of the below:- Small Head
- Flattened Facial Features
- Eyes with An Upward Slant
- Ears of Small or Unusual Shape
- Short Neck
- Poor Muscle Tone
- Broad, Short Hands with a Single Palm Crease
- Small Hands and Feet
- Short Fingers
- Extreme Flexibility
- Short Stature
- Brushfield’s Spots