Mr. & Mrs. Steven & Tara Davis of Wilbraham, Massachusetts tied the knot this past weekend and celebrated their love by "Kissing for a Cause" during the reception! As a long-time friend of Melanie McDonald, mom to Josephine, 5, living with PWS, Tara wanted to raise money for PWSA | USA in honor of Josephine in a very special and unique way.
"The clinking of glasses to cue the couple to kiss felt a little too lacking in significance and more for entertainment value alone. By choosing such an important cause to accompany the bell, it transformed each kiss into a genuine celebration in knowing we and the people we love were doing some good as well," said Tara. "We didn’t need gifts to mark the occasion and wanted to find a way for our special day to be a blessing to others. PWSA | USA seemed like the perfect place to direct support. We invited Melanie to speak after our first dance to explain. We set up a bell that generous guests could ring throughout the evening indicating they had made a donation in the jar we provided, or that they had given online to our Hope United fundraising page. PWSA | USA provided a custom QR code that we put in our wedding program and displayed near the jar. We were happy to hear the bell ring so many times throughout our reception and felt great knowing that it meant PWSA | USA was getting support!”
Steven and Tara raised nearly $1,000 from their "Kissing for a Cause" fundraiser. We are sincerely appreciative to the newlyweds for their support and wish them all the best - Cheers to the Davis'!
If you are interested in hosting a PWS Hope United fundraiser, click HERE and email us at hopeunited@pwsausa.org.
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Jennifer Bolander has been serving as a Special Education Specialist for PWSA (USA) since October of 2015. She is a graduate of John Carroll University and lives in Ohio with her husband Brad and daughters Kate (17), and Sophia (13) who was born with PWS.
Perry A. Zirkel has written more than 1,500 publications on various aspects of school law, with an emphasis on legal issues in special education. He writes a regular column for NAESP’s Principal magazine and NASP’s Communiqué newsletter, and he did so previously for Phi Delta Kappan and Teaching Exceptional Children.
Evan has worked with the Prader-Willi Syndrome Association (USA) since 2007 primarily as a Crisis Intervention and Family Support Counselor. Evans works with parents and schools to foster strong collaborative relationships and appropriate educational environments for students with PWS.
Dr. Amy McTighe is the PWS Program Manager and Inpatient Teacher at the Center for Prader-Willi Syndrome at the Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh. She graduated from Duquesne University receiving her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Education with a focus on elementary education, special education, and language arts.
Staci Zimmerman works for Prader-Willi Syndrome Association of Colorado as an Individualized Education Program (IEP) consultant. Staci collaborates with the PWS multi-disciplinary clinic at the Children’s Hospital in Denver supporting families and school districts around the United States with their child’s Individual Educational Plan.
Founded in 2001, SDLC is a non-profit legal services organization dedicated to protecting and advancing the legal rights of people with disabilities throughout the South. It partners with the Southern Poverty Law Center, Protection and Advocacy (P&A) programs, Legal Services Corporations (LSC) and disability organizations on major, systemic disability rights issues involving the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the federal Medicaid Act. Recently in November 2014, Jim retired.