Christopher's "Thank You" Campaign
Donation protected
At this point, we have received thousands upon thousands of letters of support based upon the Facebook post that went viral about two and a half weeks ago. If you recall, my son, Christopher, who is on the autistic spectrum, when asked on a school assignment to list his friends, wrote "No One".
I gave a brief, ten minute radio interview on a Kansas City talk show (we live in New Jersey) and did not give it much thought after that. However, the story went viral shortly thereafter, and it wasn't long before the story was shared around the globe.
It is my intent to respond to as many of these letters as is humanly possible. I am in the beginning stages of asking youth and senior organizations for their help in doing so.
However, there is the matter of content and postage. While we have responded to a few personally, it has become clear that we are going to need a little help if we are to respond to as many as possible.
We are still in the process of opening and categorizing each letter.
By far, the largest contingent is other children.
Other children that have reached out and offered to be Christopher's friend and want to be pen pals. Other categories include grandparents/seniors, fire/police/military, and schools (envelopes that contain hundres of letters from children in just one school), to name but a few.
It is not in my nature to ask for financial help, and by opening up a Go Fund Me account, I have to swallow a bit of pride. However, without assistance, I don't see how we can effectively write back to as many people as we would like to. I chose the goal based upon a very conservative estimate of the price of postage versus the number of letters to which we need to respond.
It is my hope that the labor will be based upon voulenteer efforts.
My plan is this:
A) To create/print up a detailed response, in the form of a letter, including pictures, documenting Christopher's experience with the outpouring of support.
B) To reinforce the message of support and inclusion for all those that are a little bit "different" and to encourage parents and educators to have this conversation with the children in their lives.
C) To say "Thank You" to those that wrote to Christopher and to encourage
them to look for the Christophers in their communities and extend the same level of support and acceptance they have showed to my son.
Thank you all for listening and considering this proposal.
Even if you cannot give, I want to thank you all for the emotional support that you have shown to Christopher.
Because that has been priceless.
Humbly,
Christopher's Dad
I gave a brief, ten minute radio interview on a Kansas City talk show (we live in New Jersey) and did not give it much thought after that. However, the story went viral shortly thereafter, and it wasn't long before the story was shared around the globe.
It is my intent to respond to as many of these letters as is humanly possible. I am in the beginning stages of asking youth and senior organizations for their help in doing so.
However, there is the matter of content and postage. While we have responded to a few personally, it has become clear that we are going to need a little help if we are to respond to as many as possible.
We are still in the process of opening and categorizing each letter.
By far, the largest contingent is other children.
Other children that have reached out and offered to be Christopher's friend and want to be pen pals. Other categories include grandparents/seniors, fire/police/military, and schools (envelopes that contain hundres of letters from children in just one school), to name but a few.
It is not in my nature to ask for financial help, and by opening up a Go Fund Me account, I have to swallow a bit of pride. However, without assistance, I don't see how we can effectively write back to as many people as we would like to. I chose the goal based upon a very conservative estimate of the price of postage versus the number of letters to which we need to respond.
It is my hope that the labor will be based upon voulenteer efforts.
My plan is this:
A) To create/print up a detailed response, in the form of a letter, including pictures, documenting Christopher's experience with the outpouring of support.
B) To reinforce the message of support and inclusion for all those that are a little bit "different" and to encourage parents and educators to have this conversation with the children in their lives.
C) To say "Thank You" to those that wrote to Christopher and to encourage
them to look for the Christophers in their communities and extend the same level of support and acceptance they have showed to my son.
Thank you all for listening and considering this proposal.
Even if you cannot give, I want to thank you all for the emotional support that you have shown to Christopher.
Because that has been priceless.
Humbly,
Christopher's Dad
Organizer
Bob Cornelius
Organizer
Rockaway, NJ
