Project: Wings for Autism Organization Who Conducted The Project: The Arc of Lehigh and Northampton Counties With Partner organizations: Lehigh Valley International Airport Allegiant Air The Arc of The United States Autism Resource Community Hub (ARCH) of the Lehigh Valley Lehigh Valley Autism Society Nominated By: Board of Directors, The Arc of Lehigh and Northampton Counties Project s Total Expenses: $ 44,220 Project s Net Income: SEE RESULTS BELOW Primary Purpose of Project: To provide a real-life rehearsal event for children and adults with autism and other intellectual and developmental disabilities in our community to give them the confidence to travel by air using an airport. Other Purposes of Project: In addition to providing the air-travel rehearsal event, The Arc hoped to use its Wings For Autism program to accomplish the following goals: Establish relationships with new business partners including Lehigh Valley International Airport who would serve as the host of the event, and would recruit Allegiant Air to serve as our host airline. Reach out to community partners, such as ARCH of the Lehigh Valley and the Lehigh Valley Autism Society, to help us spread the word to families and assist in having them sign up to participate and fill an entire airplane. Put together a coalition of media partners who could deliver a public awareness campaign about autism and other intellectual and developmental disabilities to the public during the week before and after the Wings for Autism event. Conduct a training session to the 20+ Lehigh Valley International Airport employees who volunteered their time to support the Wings for Autism event, and as a result, helped to sensitize them to the special needs of people with autism and other intellectual and developmental disabilities who will travel through the airport year round. Keep in touch with participating families who will actually take their first flight, to learn how our program prepared them and areas we can improve in the future. By securing both cash and in-kind sponsorships, raise the resources necessary to present this project to the individuals from our community who will benefit from it. By using the success of the Wings for Autism project as an example of the quality work and peopleoriented results The Arc of Lehigh and Northampton Counties achieves as an organization, inspire, solicit and secure additional resources from other community groups and organizations in support of its work. The organization s case on why their project should earn your vote as Special Project Of The Year: Wings for Autism was a life-changing experience for my daughter Grace, and for our family! - Lisa Kulp, mother of 8-year old Gracie, Hellertown, PA On Saturday, May 7, 2016, The Arc of Lehigh and Northampton Counties presented Wings for Autism, a unique rehearsal event for people with autism and other intellectual and developmental disabilities to have a real-life experience using an airport when traveling by plane. The Arc partnered with Lehigh Valley
International Airport who hosted the event, and Allegiant Air who provided a plane for participants to experience boarding, seating and exiting an air craft. Other partners included The Autism Resource Community Hub of the Lehigh Valley and the Lehigh Valley Autism Society who each helped to spread the word to families across the community and assisted to have them sign up to participate. Finally, because Wings for Autism is a trademarked program of The Arc of The United States, The Arc of Lehigh and Northampton Counties partnered with our national organization who assisted with the computerized registration system and other important details that helped to make our local project run so smoothly. For families who have a member with autism or other intellectual and developmental disabilities, travelling can be a challenge, even if traveling by car, said Karen Shoemaker, Executive Director of The Arc of Lehigh and Northampton Counties. For most of these families, traveling by plane was not even considered, given the environmental, spatial, tactile and social challenges many individuals have. Wings for Autism is a unique opportunity for families to have a real-life rehearsal experience that may allow them to work through anxieties and fulfill dreams of being able to visit grandma at Thanksgiving, or take a trip to Disney World. More than 40 volunteers were on hand to assist the individuals and families to successfully complete the experience, with helpful tips and suggestions they could use when traveling by air in the future. Lehigh Valley International Airport employees, along with staff and supporters of The Arc, served as volunteers. Waiting in line, being in close proximity to other people and experiencing the security clearance can be a challenge for anyone, but most especially for people with disabilities, said Karen Shoemaker. The volunteers were be able to help families who may struggle through this rehearsal event with helpful advice that can make the difference for them having a successful flight in the future. We are very proud to have the opportunity to partner with The Arc and host this event, said Lehigh Northampton Airport Authority Executive Director, Charles Everett. Our airport is a great facility for those that have added challenges while traveling, and this experience has helped us serve our travelers even better, all year long. We are more than ready to accommodate any passenger that may need additional assistance. Seventy two (72) pre-registered local people with autism and other intellectual and developmental disabilities, along with family members, began arriving at Lehigh Valley International Airport at 2:30 PM this past May 7, to check-in and to begin their air travel rehearsal experience. Of the 72 registered participants, 61 were children, with 51% of these participants being age 10 or younger. The process included proceeding to the ticketing counter, followed by security clearance, walking through the airport terminal, and finding a seat at the gate, where they waited to be issued their boarding pass. Allegiant Air welcomed each person with a disability, along with one family member to accompany them, onto the plane, and assist with finding their seat and buckling their seat belt. For families that brought more than one family member for the experience, they waited at the gate and cheered their family member on as they boarded the plane. After everyone was boarded and seated, Allegiant Air personnel instructed the participants on the plane about safety procedures associated with a flight. Before they left their seats, Allegiant Air personnel distributed papers printed with a special surprise to each participating family. Not only had each family experienced a day when they began to consider the possibilities of what adventures may lie ahead for them by traveling by air, they received the surprise of two free round-trip tickets on Allegiant Air to take their first trip to anywhere they want to go, to any destination that Allegiant flies to. In short, each family gets two (2) free round trip tickets that they can use anytime, anywhere that Allegiant flies to, over the next two years (except over Christmas), as Allegiant s way of saying YOU CAN DO THIS, AND WE ARE WITH YOU!!!! The total combined value of these tickets is more than $22,000. Finally, the participants departed the aircraft and were welcomed to a special reception, courtesy of Lehigh Valley International Airport. Everyone got a t-shirt, got lots of information, goodies and had a fantastic time, thanks to so many great sponsors, large and small. Said Karen Shoemaker. But most of all, the families we
serve have told us, to a person, that through this experience, they have a sense of confidence that air travel is a real possibility for their family. They aren t afraid, and with two tickets ticket in-hand, they can t wait to plan their first trip! This incredible team effort has truly changed people s lives and has brought greater community awareness on many different levels to autism and other intellectual and developmental disabilities. Thanks to our friends at Lehigh Valley International Airport, the local and regional media took great interest in getting behind The Arc and our Wings for Autism effort by supporting a public awareness campaign on autism and other intellectual and developmental disabilities in the weeks before and after the event at Lehigh Valley International Airport on May 7. Adams Outdoor provided five (5) digital billboards around the Lehigh Valley s roadways, WODE 99.9 The Hawk provided more than $5,000 in promotional announcements, including a live interview dedicated to Wings for Autism during a Morning Drive segment, followed by a station auction event for concert tickets with hundreds of dollars in proceeds donated to The Arc. The Wings for Autism public awareness piece was featured in The Morning Call, and the Wings for Autism public awareness piece appeared on WFMZ.com home page for two weeks. The total combined value of media received exceeded $17,500. Finally, The Arc used the incredible success of Wings for Autism as another example of program excellence to support the reputation the organization as delivering top quality programs and services across our diverse community, to inspire the support of others with a desire to make a difference in the lives of children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Through the success of Wings for Autism, The Arc has received new, pledged and potential support totaling thousands of dollars for other organizational current special events and future grant awards. We just booked our first flight with Gracie we re going to Disney World on Allegiant Air from Lehigh Valley International Airport this December 10, and it s a dream come true, said Lisa Kulp, the mother of Gracie Kulp, from Hellertown, PA. After our experience with the Wings for Autism program this past May, Gracie is no longer afraid of airplanes or airports. In fact, whenever we put our Wings for Autism T-shirts on, she gets excited and thinks we are going to the airport! It really was a life-changing experience for her, and for our family. Final Results: Program 78 individuals with autism/other intellectual & developmental disabilities registered to participate. Before they participated in Wings for Autism, 100% of participating families reported that they had anxiety about traveling by air. Following the event, 97% of participants report that the experience was excellent. 89% of participants report that, following the Wings for Autism experience, they are comfortable or somewhat comfortable with planning a future trip by air. Of the 78 registered participants, 61 were children, with 51% being age 10 or younger. Participants were as culturally diverse as our Lehigh Valley community. Lehigh Valley International Airport and its employees are committed and sensitized to the needs of travelers with autism and other intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Financial Although Wings for Autism raised sufficient resources to meet event expenses through a combination of cash and in-kind contributions the net income, as an event, was $0. However, the philanthropic support it inspired and generated in support of The Arc, it s mission, and the people it serves, is substantial: Lehigh Valley International Airport is now a deeply committed partner to The Arc, and helped to recruit more than $20,000 in new cash and in-kind sponsorships. Allegiant Airlines provided the use of a commercial aircraft, aircraft personnel and more than $22,000 in in-kind contributions which will provide program participants with their first travel experience by air, free of charge. Local media outlets contributed complimentary exposure on billboards, newspaper, radio and on the internet for a public awareness campaign on autism and the Lehigh Valley as a friendly travel destination for people with disabilities during the 2 weeks around Wings for Autism. Wings for Autism has lead to new sponsorships to some of The Arc s other special events from organizations that became acquainted with us through Wings for Autism, and through the excellence of the project, its impressive collaborations and the results it has achieved, has inspired a personalized invitation to apply for new grant monies from regional grantors, with a combined total of more than $52,000 in current/future funding.