John,

The holiday season is a time for giving, filled with warm wishes and gestures of appreciation shared amongst friends, family and community. It’s the time of year when we come together in the spirit of hope and understanding. And this year, friends of Autism Speaks are enabling an even greater holiday gift of a brighter future, by matching your gifts to deliver more life-changing impact.

Right now, our dedicated supporter, Lisa Higgins Hussman, is matching all gifts up to a total of $40,000 for the next 5 days. Lisa knows firsthand the importance of having access to resources, connections and support for children and adults with autism. Her son was diagnosed at 18 months old. “He needed those vital services like speech and occupational therapies, as well as the developmental skills,” Lisa says.

While she and her family were able to provide those services for their son, she realizes that not all families have access to critical resources. That’s why she is a supporter of our Autism Response Team (ART) with trained team members who give information to families and caregivers on special education, adult services and much more. Now, she’s challenging us all to do our best to make a difference and help provide access to critical support and resources to children and adults with autism.

From now until Tuesday, December 6th, your gift will DOUBLE because of this generous match.

Thank you for wanting to support families in the autism community. Your holiday gift today will be matched to DOUBLE the help, hope and resources these children and adults need to succeed.

REMEMBER that December 6th is the last day to activate this generous doubling gift. We need your help to unlock the entire $40,000 matching gift and give the gift of a brighter future to people impacted by autism.

Thank you!