Fox & Weeks Donates Chromebooks to Matthew Reardon Center for Autism
(SAVANNAH, GA) Fox & Weeks Funeral Directors have donated $1,000 with which to purchase Chromebooks for students at the Matthew Reardon Center for Autism, southeast Georgia’s only accredited year-round day school for students with autism and one of only a handful of such programs in the state.
The center provides educational and advocacy services to children and families affected by autism and other similar developmental disorders in the Coastal Empire and throughout southeast Georgia. For more information, visit http://www.matthewreardon.org/.
The donation was made possible through Fox and Week’s partnership with the Matthews Children’s Foundation and was combined with a grant awarded in 2017 through the foundation to enable the center to buy Chromebooks for all of its upper school students.
“Fox and Weeks and the Matthews Children’s Foundation have been particularly generous to us, and we are very grateful,” said Patti T. Victor, president and CEO of Matthew Reardon Center for Autism. “It’s fascinating to observe a non-verbal student compose complete sentences with correct spelling, grammar and punctuation on these devices when no other means of communication seems to be effective.”
Victor said autism brings its own set of challenges, but it also can bring out particular abilities. For example, she said, technological aptitude seems to be common among several of the center’s students and technology can enhance a student’s ability to learn and to more adequately communicate and interact within their environment.
Chromebooks fit into that category, she said, and are particularly popular for educational use as they offer affordability, built-in security, automatic updates and a variety of classroom tools.
Fox & Weeks has now awarded nearly $40,000 in Matthews Children’s Foundation grants since 2012. Each time a family buys a casket at Fox & Weeks, a portion of the cost is donated to the Matthews Children’s Foundation (formerly the York Children’s Foundation) in the name of the deceased. The accumulated funds are then distributed quarterly through an application process to area non-profits that benefit children and children’s causes.
Fox & Weeks is the only funeral home in Savannah that actively participates in the Matthews Children’s Foundation. Since its inception in 1992, the foundation has granted nearly $4 million to community-based, nonprofit children’s organizations nationwide.
“This support, along with other generous gifts will enable the center to continue increasing our day school enrollment capacity in 2018, along with the depth and breadth of support services offered,” Victor said. “We also plan to expand ages served starting at 16 months through preschool this Fall.”
To qualify for a Matthews Children’s Foundation grant through Fox & Weeks, an application must be submitted and an organization’s activities must be primarily directed toward the welfare and benefit of children. Contact Fox & Weeks at (912) 352-7200 with any questions.
ABOUT THE MATTHEW REARDON CENTER FOR AUTISM (MRCA)
MRCA operates southeast Georgia’s only accredited year-round day school for children with autism. They have provided advocacy and outreach services to more than 800 families across southeast Georgia and have hosted professional training and instructional opportunities for more than 4,000 family members, educators, health professionals and self-advocates. The organization was incorporated in 2000 and serves 22 students through ADVANCE Academy. They have eleven full-time employees and operate in a 6,000-square-foot suite at 6602 Abercorn St #200, Savannah, GA 31405. Website: http://www.matthewreardon.org/
CONTACT
Patti T. Victor, President and CEO
The Matthew Reardon Center for Autism, Inc, and Advance Academy
912-355-9098 (office)
912-352-2460 (fax)
pvictor@matthewreardon.org
www.matthewreardon.org
MEDIA CONTACT
Cynthia Wright
Carriage Trade Public Relations
912-856-9075
cynthia.wright@carriagetradepr.com
www.carriagetradepr.com