pictured: Matt & Lesslie Pursley; Brigitte, Sydney & Dalton Herron
Thursday, October 28, 2010
All-American Athletes: Kickball Season Ends
Dalton Help Foundation teamed up with the Rock Hill Parks Foundation to start the All American Athletes League so children with special needs can particpate in playing sport like any other child. Kickball season just wrapped up this weekend and we want to thank all of the athletes and volunteers that made the season possible! Speak thanks to organizer Lesslie Pursley! We look forward to Baseball Season next spring!
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
All-American Athletes: Kickball 2010
Kickball season with All-American Athletes has officially begun!!!
This fall, 40 kids are playing for the All-American Athletes kickball league. Four teams meet weekly at Cherry Park. We are excited that so many children are enjoying sports and thrilled to share that over 40 volunteers have signed up to assist with the program!!!
Monday, August 9, 2010
All-American Athletes + Charlotte Knights
The All-American Athletes were chosen to run the bases with the Charlotte Knights!
Friday, July 2, 2010
grapevine fundraiser
grapevine wine bar + wine shop was the setting for Dalton Help Foundation's latest fundraiser, held on Wednesday, June 30th. the turnout was phenomenal, but the outpouring of support was truly impressive! DHF volunteers worked as bartenders and servers, as DHF supporters enjoyed great tasting wine in a relaxing atmosphere. Tips and personal donations totalled $1,400!! Thanks to everyone that came out to support Dalton Help Foundation!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
All American Athletes
The 2nd season of baseball was completed on May 25, and all of the kids had such a wonderful time and parents were ecstatic about the program and all it offered for their child. The kids played, the parents laughed, and the volunteers learned a great life lesson about sharing a little bit of time to make a difference in a child's life. This program hopes to continue to grow and be able to reach more families in the York Country Area! Read some of the comments below from the parents:
"My child initiated play with us last night for the first time in a long time. They brought us their glove and baseball and wanted us to play with them!"
"_______ has made a great connection with their buddy, he looks forward to coming to baseball and spontaneously says their name!"
"_______ giggles the whole ride over to baseball when I tell them its time to play"
" I got to send pictures to my family last night of _______ playing baseball! It was so nice to be able to be like any other "typical" parent sending out pictures of my child playing baseball to friends and family. I appreciate this league for giving normalcy back to my life and allowing my child to participate in something that all other children get to do!"
"Thank you and the volunteers for looking at my child and only seeing their abilities and not looking at their disability. My child laughs, plays, and enjoys life just like every other child and for the first time I felt like my child was "normal" and able to interact and play with someone besides me or their therapist! No one looked at my differently and felt sad for me or my child, they laughed with me and shared in my child's accomplish as she hit that ball as hard as she could at baseball and ran with a huge smile across her face"
"_______ has started asking for baseball at school and plays at recess with his friends! He plays with typical peers!!! He still needs help, but he is hitting the ball and running the bases but the other kids are so interested that he is playing baseball! They are actually understanding that yes, he has Autism, but first he is a child that wants to play just like them. What better gift can you give to me! "
"Some students from _______ school were at Cherry Park last night, I spoke to their parents and they asked where ______ was and I pointed to the baseball field and said he was playing baseball. The boys had a huge smile on their faces and asked if _____ would come over in the summer and play baseball with them! I rejoiced in this simple gesture, but I knew we had just crossed a huge barrier. I cry now thinking about it. The teacher emailed me on Thursday and said the kids were all talking about ______ playing baseball and several have asked if he could come to their recess and play with them!"
"I celebrate the simple fact that my daughter gets to participate in an after school function that is not to further her academics, catch her up developmentally, but simply to let her be a kid and to let her enjoy being on a team with other friends. Even if she does sit in the field and looks to be "lost" most of the time and doesn't communicate much with her buddy. She grabs her tshirt, glove, and tennis shoes EVERY DAY and goes to the door. Those are words enough for me! Her smile as I show her the pictures I took and she shows them to her Nana bring tears of joy to my eyes, she has learned what it means to fit in and to belong and to be loved unconditionally. For that gift, words are not enough".
A great end, to a great season!
Learn more about All American Athletes by visiting the website. You can also see photos from the season in a slideshow here.
"My child initiated play with us last night for the first time in a long time. They brought us their glove and baseball and wanted us to play with them!"
"_______ has made a great connection with their buddy, he looks forward to coming to baseball and spontaneously says their name!"
"_______ giggles the whole ride over to baseball when I tell them its time to play"
" I got to send pictures to my family last night of _______ playing baseball! It was so nice to be able to be like any other "typical" parent sending out pictures of my child playing baseball to friends and family. I appreciate this league for giving normalcy back to my life and allowing my child to participate in something that all other children get to do!"
"Thank you and the volunteers for looking at my child and only seeing their abilities and not looking at their disability. My child laughs, plays, and enjoys life just like every other child and for the first time I felt like my child was "normal" and able to interact and play with someone besides me or their therapist! No one looked at my differently and felt sad for me or my child, they laughed with me and shared in my child's accomplish as she hit that ball as hard as she could at baseball and ran with a huge smile across her face"
"_______ has started asking for baseball at school and plays at recess with his friends! He plays with typical peers!!! He still needs help, but he is hitting the ball and running the bases but the other kids are so interested that he is playing baseball! They are actually understanding that yes, he has Autism, but first he is a child that wants to play just like them. What better gift can you give to me! "
"Some students from _______ school were at Cherry Park last night, I spoke to their parents and they asked where ______ was and I pointed to the baseball field and said he was playing baseball. The boys had a huge smile on their faces and asked if _____ would come over in the summer and play baseball with them! I rejoiced in this simple gesture, but I knew we had just crossed a huge barrier. I cry now thinking about it. The teacher emailed me on Thursday and said the kids were all talking about ______ playing baseball and several have asked if he could come to their recess and play with them!"
"I celebrate the simple fact that my daughter gets to participate in an after school function that is not to further her academics, catch her up developmentally, but simply to let her be a kid and to let her enjoy being on a team with other friends. Even if she does sit in the field and looks to be "lost" most of the time and doesn't communicate much with her buddy. She grabs her tshirt, glove, and tennis shoes EVERY DAY and goes to the door. Those are words enough for me! Her smile as I show her the pictures I took and she shows them to her Nana bring tears of joy to my eyes, she has learned what it means to fit in and to belong and to be loved unconditionally. For that gift, words are not enough".
A great end, to a great season!
Learn more about All American Athletes by visiting the website. You can also see photos from the season in a slideshow here.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
All-American Athletes - Baseball Photos
You can see a slideshow of photos from the All-American Athletes Spring 2010 baseball season by clicking here. Learn more about the program on their website.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Sunset Park makes a statement for Autism Awareness!
Susan Williams and Maria Miles of Sunset Park Elementary School in Rock Hill made quite a statement with their Autism Awareness project! This aerial photo was taken by a plane. It's the entire school in the shape of a puzzle piece!!! The creative act got coverage on local TV station, CN2, as well.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Running for a Cause
On Sunday, March 28, 2010 Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Alpha Delta Pi, located at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, SC, donated $10,000 to the Dalton Help Foundation. This marked the 4th Annual Running For a Cause event, but the first time that DHF was the recipient of these funds.
The event was held at the Alpha Delta Pi Sorority House, beginning at 4:00 p.m. It included BBQ, supplied by Walt Cockfield's family of Hemingway, SC. Each organization ordered over 100 t-shirts to advertise the event and its accomplishments.
The brothers of SAE and sisters of ADPi feel honored to assist in such a worthy cause. There were over 150 members in attendance at the BBQ, which concluded shortly before the Greek Week festivities began.
Pictured below: Michael Rentz, Ellison Neese, Strait Herron and Kari Nagel
The organizations would like to thank everyone that donated or helped in the organization of the event.
Pictured below: Lesslie Pursley (far left) and the Herron Family (Sydney, Dalton, Brigitte & Strait)
Sydney and Dalton
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
All-American Athletes
All-American Athletes is a unique sports league offering therapeutic recreation for special needs children ages 4 to 13. The league offers a structured setting where students can learn the basic of a sport and engage in social relationships outside of the school setting. The entire league is volunteer-run and based solely on the support of the Rock Hill community. The 2010 schedule is currently posted! Baseball registration is open NOW!
To learn more about the league, please visit their blog or email Lesslie. The league is always looking for new volunteers and donors.
What is DHF?
Dalton Help Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization founded by Dalton's family. Strait, Brigitte and big sister, Sydney have been providing assistance to families in the York County area since February 2006. Funds are spent to assist family with expenses related to autism, to provide equipment to families or schools, and to support the development and growth of local programs. The autism community is ever-growing and DHF is here to provide hope and support to children and families dealing with the struggles associated with it.
Welcome!
Welcome to the new internet home for the Dalton Help Foundation! Our previous website is still up and is available for accessing past information. It can be found by clicking here.
Our new home, here at blogger, will allow some wonderful improvements that we are really excited about:
1) More frequent updates on foundation events and on Dalton himself
2) Contribution of information from various people involved with the foundation
3) You can use an RSS Feed to stay up-to-date on all the newest DHF posts!
4) Readers can easily post comments and questions directly to a post and someone with the foundation will respond quickly.
The site is brand new so keep your eyes open for new things to be added gradually as we make the transition!
Our new home, here at blogger, will allow some wonderful improvements that we are really excited about:
1) More frequent updates on foundation events and on Dalton himself
2) Contribution of information from various people involved with the foundation
3) You can use an RSS Feed to stay up-to-date on all the newest DHF posts!
4) Readers can easily post comments and questions directly to a post and someone with the foundation will respond quickly.
The site is brand new so keep your eyes open for new things to be added gradually as we make the transition!
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