Dear Family and Friends,
We at the Fragile X Association of Southern California are grateful to our supporters who have helped us continue to thrive during these extraordinary times. 2021 was another unprecedented year and yet because of you we have still managed to offer virtual webinars, support groups, and continued fundraising.
We started off the year with an IEP workshop with Dr. Ionna Pal, Clinical Psychologist at Stramski Center. I don’t think we could ever have enough of these workshops as IEP’s are so complex and the laws are constantly changing. It was especially helpful as we were navigating a whole new territory transitioning in and out of distance learning. Dr. Pal also hosted a “Back to School” workshop in August to help us with transitioning back to in- person learning. We are so grateful for Dr. Pal’s expertise and her willingness to share her knowledge with us!
Our monthly support group with Diane Simon Smith, MPH, MA, MFT has been a wonderful benefit we are pleased to offer our members. The group meets online on the second Tuesday of each month for about an hour. It is a space where parents and caregivers can share our unique journey and help each other along the way. The success of the group encouraged a few of our volunteer board members to start a Spanish speaking support group. We are currently in the process of looking for a Spanish speaking LMFT to help facilitate those sessions. Please let us know if you have any referrals.
We continue to support all of the National Fragile X Foundation and FRAXA’s efforts by promoting their webinars and contributing to their fundraising efforts. The 2021 NFXF X-Strides campaign raised over $95K and FRAXA’s World Fragile X Day was a huge success that increased awareness during Fragile X Awareness month.
Our mission includes promoting public awareness of Fragile X Syndrome with a special emphasis on educators and health professionals, providing a forum for families and children with Fragile X to meet and share their ideas, concerns and problems, and supporting scientific research on Fragile X Syndrome. Our non-profit organization is staffed by volunteer Board Members so all donations go straight to our mission.
Your donations help us:
- Serve our local Fragile X community by offering both in person and virtual events to keep us connected, educated and supported.
- Fund our local Fragile X Clinic at the Stramski Center. We are so grateful for our local FX clinic and to Gary Feldman, MD and Ioana Pal, PsyD who help our families get local treatment.
- Fund critical research to help find the answers we need by donating to the National Fragile X Foundation, the MIND Institute and FRAXA Research
Please consider helping FRAXSOCAL by providing a 100% tax-deductible donation. Any amount is greatly appreciated and always makes a difference. We understand there are many non-profit organizations that you can support, therefore we are extremely honored and grateful when you choose FRAXSOCAL. We wish you a very happy and healthy holiday season and a happy new year!
Sincerely yours,
Jennifer Newsome, FRAXSOCAL President