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Autism Speaks, We Listen For the past 17 years, the Fraternity’s philanthropic concept, Choose Children, has served as a platform for truly great community service work and hands-on assistance by Alpha Xi Delta Sisters. Our college chapters and alumnae associations have made a tremendous, lasting impact on the lives of countless children. And yet we wanted to do more. In 2008, Alpha Xi Delta’s National Council appointed a task force to take a strategic look at Choose Children and recommend possible changes. Task force members talked with other Sisters about Choose Children and found that our philanthropy service concept was too broad to be of maximum benefit to either the Fraternity or our communities. What’s more, the Choose Children concept was not easily understood by organizations and individuals outside the Fraternity. Even some of our Sisters did not fully understand that a Choose Children foundation and a cause named Choose Children do not exist. To remedy this situation, task force members came up with criteria to identify a specific philanthropic focus and, ideally, a partner organization that could benefit from Alpha Xi Delta’s collective womanpower. They recommended that the cause: ■■ have a personal connection to Sisters ■■ support Alpha Xi Delta's Ritual, mission and vision ■■ have support resources in place to assist our chapters and associations After researching numerous causes and organizations, the task force enthusiastically recommended that we forge a philanthropic partnership with Autism Speaks.
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The Quill of Alpha Xi Delta | Summer 2009
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Boys are four times more likely than girls to have autism. What is Autism Speaks? Autism Speaks is the nation’s preeminent autism awareness organization. It is dedicated to increasing awareness of autistic spectrum disorders (a group of complex neurobiological disorders); funding research to find causes, prevention, treatments and a cure for autism; and advocating for the needs of affected families. Autism Speaks was founded in 2005 by Suzanne and Bob Wright, grandparents of a child with autism. Since then, Autism Speaks has merged with the National Alliance for Autism Research (NAAR) and Cure Autism Now (CAN), bringing together the nation’s three leading autism advocacy organizations. After her first meeting with Autism Speaks representatives, National Vice President and philanthropy task force member Sue Eicher Mamber, Kent State ’77, knew a partnership had extraordinarily high potential for matching the task force’s criteria. “It was apparent right from the start that Autism Speaks would be a dynamic philanthropic partner. It’s a well-run organization with remarkable connections that would lead to new challenges and opportunities for the Fraternity. Autism Speaks staff members ‘get’ what Alpha Xi Delta is about; they appreciate what our members contribute and how we function as a Fraternity. And their cause is deeply meaningful for our Sisters – the ‘heart-sunshine element,’ you might call it.”