National

PROJECT VIJAY When Vijay was born, he was not expected to live. His parents gave him loving care, but professional medical services were not affordable. He was bedridden until age 7, but then, through sheer determination, he began steadily improving, while continuing to have both physical and developmental challenges. In 2018, Disabled Children's Fund provided Vijay with an all-terrain pediatric wheelchair to enhance his ability to get around in the rural area where he lives.We named the initiative "Project Vijay" after him due to his winning personality and positive spirit.

The single most important thing that we can do to save cats and dogs from all the suffering and death that their overpopulation causes is to spay and neuter them. Spay and neuter surgeries are routine, affordable surgeries that can prevent thousands of animals from being born, only to suffer and struggle to survive on the streets, be abused by cruel or neglectful people, or be euthanized in animal shelters for lack of a loving home. Spaying and neutering makes a big difference: Just one unaltered female dog and her offspring can produce 67,000 puppies in only six years.

Carla describes her visit to a Challenger Learning Center in 6th grade as a life-changing experience that "definitely influenced the direction" of her career. Carla participated in a simulated space mission with her classmates. The mission gave Carla insight into a range of science, technology, and engineering roles and the opportunity to practice teamwork, communication, and creative problem solving - skills that are critical for today's careers. Carla says, "I enjoyed the atmosphere of being part of a team and doing something momentous.

In April of 2009, Corporal Christian Brown joined the United States Marine Corps. He followed in the footsteps of his maternal grandfather, who served as a Commander in the Navy, and his paternal grandfather, who was an enlisted member of the Marine Corps. In December of 2009, he was deployed to Marjah, Afghanistan, during one of the most notable surges in OIF/OEF history. After safely returning home from his first deployment, he was once again deployed to Afghanistan in July of 2011.

Susan suffered from a spinal cord injury and a serious head injury that left her unable to communicate. Through speech and physical therapy, Susan regained her ability to speak, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to return to her physically demanding job as a nurse. Susan learned about PAWS through a PAWS Demonstration at her local libary. She wasn’t sure how much a dog would help her, but she decided to apply. Soon after, Susan got her Assistance Dog, SABLE, a golden retriever.

Jared Stofflett grew up reading books from Seedlings Braille Books for Children. Now he is a board member at Seedlings, which he credits for helping to give him the literacy skills he needed to become a software developer for Compuware.Stofflett was born blind. His mother learned about Seedlings from the teacher of the visually impaired assigned to Jared when he was 7 months old. By the time he was 4, he was already reading braille. As an elementary student, Jared read an estimated 75 to 100 books from Seedlings.

Forty years ago, a grieving mother set into motion a national movement that has saved tens of thousands of lives. A drunk driver, out of jail just two days following his fourth drunk driving arrest, had struck and killed Candace Lightner’s 13-year-old daughter Cari as she walked to a church carnival with a friend.

Billie was born wild in India in 1962. Shortly thereafter, in 1966, she was captured, separated from her family, and exported to Southwick Zoo in Mendon, MA. Like most Asian elephants arriving in America during this era, Billie was expected to spend the majority of her life performing and on exhibit. In 1972, Billie was sold to the Hawthorn Corporation, a company that trained and leased elephants to circuses.