You may have seen this determined young woman on The Ellen Show in 2008. Michala Riggle, then age 10, was busy raising $200,000.00 to help her local hospital incorporate an experimental treatment that she’d seen work well for her younger brother Evan, who has autism.
Michala reached her goal by making beaded bracelets and selling them for donations. She recruited volunteers to help her make and sell thousands of them. And together, they raised over $300,000.00.
And now, she’s setting her sights even higher: she wants to build the most comprehensive Autism Research and Treatment Center in the world. The price tag: $300 million dollars! And she has a three-year plan to get it done through beaded bracelet sales. Want to help?
Michala is now 14, and running (with the help of her family and a board of directors) an official 501c-3 non-profit foundation, the Michala Riggle Beat Autism Foundation, Inc. The center she dreams of building will be the “We Believe!” International Autism Research and Treatment Center. Her goal is create a hospital where autism patients can receive treatment and care regardless of their financial circumstances, and a premiere, independent research facility where research can be conducted to find the cause of autism, and a cure.
Michala needs the help of crafters all over to reach this goal. You can sign up for a free beading kit, which contains supplies to make 300 beaded bracelets. You’d then gather some friends, make those bracelets, and head out to local community events and sell the bracelets for a suggested $3.00 donation.
There’s a sign up form over here, and you can also keep up with the campaign on Facebook or Twitter. You can also hear the full story in Michala’s own words on her YouTube Channel.
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