Local foundation helps families with children who have special needs – Fontana Herald-News

Every family has a story. We'd like to share the piece of our story with you that became a life changing event for our family.

Although it has been a difficult road, this part of our journey has transformed into a beautiful mission that we are so very passionate about.

In 2012, our daughter, Velvet, had two beautiful twin children, Ezra and Eli. They were born 28 weeks premature and weighed only 2 pounds. As a result, they have the worst form of cerebral palsy and they are both with multiple disabilities. They cannot sit up or carry on with daily tasks without assistance, nor will they ever be able to live independently.

Our daughter is a devoted mother to her children all day and works a night job. She did not have the funds to buy the proper vehicle to transport her children back and forth to medical appointments and physical therapy, but unfortunately she does not fall below the poverty line to qualify for financial assistance.

While Velvet has our continuous support, we know there are thousands of parents in the same situation that do not have extended families or extra support, including financial aid, resources, access to benefits programs or even a helping hand.

This personal experience brought us to learn the saddening fact of how large of a segment of the U.S. population is raising special needs children that are in the same situation without support. They earn too much income to qualify for programs such as Medicaid, Medicare or Medi-Cal. Additionally, insurance coverage is often very limited to what they will cover for these special needs families. This is when and why Special Angels Foundation was born.

We believe through our efforts, in building awareness of the special needs community and the challenges they face, along with raising the funds that are so greatly needed, together we can make a difference. We truly appreciate your interest in our organization.

(Gary and Crystal Carpenter will be the guest speakers at the Fontana Exchange Club meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 4 at noon at the Sundowners Restaurant in Fontana. For more information about their foundation, visit https://www.specialangelsfoundation.org.)

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Local foundation helps families with children who have special needs - Fontana Herald-News