Bench Raffle For Calan Autism Awareness Month Conclusion
Bench Scheduled to be on display in surrounding locations. Read below
This bench was maid to aid with help to raise money to get Calan a service dog. It is up for raffle and scheduled to have a winner drawn at the May 6th Glow bingo event in Witt IL. Need not be present to win. Tickets are $10 for one or three for $25.
They can be purchased here on our site. CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS NOW.
Or visit one of these locations Dates next to location will be when the bench will be on site for viewing.
Hillsboro
The Korner Store Friday April 28th 2017
Irving
Grandma's Kitchen Sunday April 23rd
Nokomis
Ugly Mugs Coffee Shop Saturday April 29th 2017
Raymond IL
Mane St Pet Salon Thursday April 27th
When I was asked to make this bench for the benefit I was honored. I had recently started hearing a little bit about Autism. In fact I was already planning a piece in my racing mind.
I started noticing it was becoming more prevalent. I had Zach Wygal come out to the shop and take an insiders look at the bench while I was making it. Zach is a special education teacher in the Hillsboro Community. He told me the numbers are up to 1 in every 80 children being born with Autism.
I learned that there is a wide variety of autism diagnoses. There are very high functioning Autistic Children and very low functioning Autistic Children.
What is Autism? I found this link very helpful. Here
Calan was diagnosed with Classic Autism. He is a beautiful bright six year old little boy that can not verbally speak. He has extreme anxiety; his parents have had to chase him down in the middle of the night as he tried to make it to Grandma's house or even the park.
Their fears are very understandable to anyone that has a child. The service dog will alert Lacey and Dustin if Calan tries to do something like this. Which in turn could potentially save his life.
Calan has also been diagnosed with a disorder that makes him think it is alright to try and eat inedible things Pica. The dog will also stop him from potentially eating something harmful.
When I work on my projects I have to dive into them. I love to learn new things and collaborate with people that are familiar or know a lot about it.
Calan's parents are two ideal parents. Dustin Heldebrandt is a military veteran who proudly served our country in the Army and is now serving as an officer at a local Correctional Facility. Lacey Heldebrandt is a special education teacher in the comunity and one chat with her and you will know she is a strong driven women.
One of those people is Ty Goad. Ty was a huge help in this project. Ty's son
I would assume that we have all seen someone who has autism. You might of not even of known it.
One of the things I do to make something like this is dive into a deep thinking process. I wanted this bench to stand for Autism Awareness in honor of Calan. To do that I
Pictured to the right is when I got the chance to meet Calan at his house.
I thoroughly enjoyed meeting Calan and getting a chance to talk to Dustin and Lacey.
I was asked to make this bench by Abby Bug who was part of Calan's Crusaders. This was a magnificent group of people that donated a lot of time and energy to see this overall fundraiser through.
One of the other many influences I had the chance to collaborate with was Ty Goad.
Ty and I are very much like brothers. We both shared the same grief group in High School as a result of loosing our fathers at a young age.
Pictured to the left is Ty and his son Elijah. Elijah has also been diagnosed with Autism.
Ty suggested or pointed me towards superman and some links to do some research with.
One Ty presented was an article off of www.Brainworldmagazine.com
"In an early flashback sequence, the young Clark Kent is trying to concentrate in school, but the world around him is overwhelming. Clark can hear the sounds of the flag ruffling outside and the heartbeats of his classmates. He can see through everything, including the rooms nearby through the walls, the organs of his classmates as they work and the bones in his own hand.
He’s under assault, unable to shut the deluge of over-stimulation out, running out of the classroom to lock himself in a closet and fending his teacher off by heating up the doorknob with his eye-lasers when she tries to enter."
- See more of this article at: http://brainworldmagazine.com/could-superman-be-autistic/#sthash.zotljH7i.dpuf
This is why you see the glow in the dark superman logo inlay-ed into the bench seat.
One of the other articles I found interesting was from a mother who had an Autistic child. Who felt like she had to be superman to keep up with her son. See through walls to keep an eye on him and how the weight of the world was on her shoulders.
During this project I was able to reach out to Jake and Heather Spenceburger who also have autistic children. They remind me of Superman and Superwoman as you see what all they have to do to stay on top of their children's safety also.
This was one of the things that intrigued me and made me feel grateful for the simple things I have taken advantage of with my own children. Like being able to say go watch a movie. It is time for bed and know they are going to their room.
The puzzle pieces that are on the awareness ribbon are also glow in the dark.
I had seen puzzle piece logos. With superman and other signs with puzzle pieces representing autism but didnt know what it meant or stood for. Or why it was the symbol for autism.
Some people attribute the puzzle pieces to mean putting the pieces of the puzzle together of this very complex disorder.
The puzzle piece was originally used by The National Autistic Society in 1963 to represent the multiple sides of autism.
The monarch butterfly on top of the awareness ribbon symbolizes the transitions with autism. The moth to the butterfly or cocoon to a beautiful butterfly. The monarch butterfly is used because of its dark lines as a sign of the dark times. Then the beautiful colors of the monarch to represent the bright beautiful times with a child with autism.
The awareness ribbon in blue or with the puzzle pieces on it is a symbol for autism as well. To me it also stood for someone in need of assistance. Or something that you should be aware of hints it being called an awareness ribbon.
The golden retriever on the side represents the dog Calan will get with a successful fundraiser. Behind the dog will be a plaque in Calan's memory and the journey to getting his very special dog.
I was blessed with the opportunity to converse back and forth with Sandra Vanostran Compton briefly. Her son Cory had a few rough days that did not permit her very much time to talk during my research time towards this project.
Her son Cory also had a need for a service dog and got one a few years back. She was delighted to tell me that the service dog was absolutely helpful and initially wanted me to see what it could do for him.
I was luck to become friends with Sandra and see some of the videos she was posting with Cory. Cory is a talker, always talking, repeating and doing repetitive things. My mother who is one of the best women in the world says Sandra is in fact one of the strongest most amazing women in the world.
Sandra has miles of beeds tied together for Cory and I mean miles. Cory likes to sort them from one pile to the next. Very rapidly sorting the beads and asking quick question after question.
Thanks for reading if you got this far. Their is a lot of heart and soul that goes into our work. Good luck if you bought a ticket for this. If you win it. It will be something that keeps you humble and caring every time you see it. Yet alone it will be amazing to look at in your yard or on your patio.
Remember giving is receiving and their are a lot of people out there that could use your help and understanding.
Stay Tuned Hubbz
