Angie is a wife and mom to 4. As a Christian mom, she can be found blogging at Thrifty Florida Mama about spending less, saving more, and following the Dave Ramsey plan to get out of debt by December 2009.

The story I’m about to tell you is true. It is about my cousin Josh and his family. It will both bless you and break your heart. Josh will turn 27 tomorrow and I would like to honor him with this post and participation in The One Dollar Give.

Josh was born prematurely and at birth suffered a lack of oxygen leading to Cerebral Palsy. He has one of the worse cases of this condition that cause him to have no control over his muscles or movement. He has been confined to a wheelchair his entire life, he cannot read, walk, or do any of the physical things that most of us take for granted every day. But he is remarkable. While he was in school he was a member of a local 4H club, showed pigs in the county fair from his wheelchair, went on field trips, and even to the prom three times. But after his graduation there was little for him to do or participate in around oir small, rural community. In order to care for him, both of his parents work full-time and Josh needed a place to go during the daytime. Sending him to an institution, nursing home, or hospital was out of the question. Josh’s parents wanted him to stay with them and he will as long as they are physically able to care for him. That’s when our family first learned of the ARC of Bradford County.

The ARC of Bradford County is a private non-profit organization dedicated to providing needed supports to people who have developmental disabilities and their families. It exists to continuously assist individuals who are developmentally disabled to ensure they have full protection of their rights as citizens, live in a world where they are valued as people, are treated with dignity and respect and have full inclusion opportunities in the community.

Josh particpates in the Day Program at the ARC where he learns educational and life skills and participates in community service projects. The wonderful people at the ARC treat Josh as if he were as normal as you and I. In the past year Josh was invited to our state capital to speak out against funding cuts for people with disabilities, rode on a float in the Christmas parade, went to a University of Florida football game, and toured Daytona International Speedway during an overnight trip with chaperones from the ARC. Josh needs the ARC program as do the other disabled clients it serves each and every day. But with the economic situation the funding for ARC is threatened. Florida ranks at the bottom in terms of funding for its disabled population, and that was before the recent threats to cut funding even more. I shudder to think of what life would be like for the clients and families served by the ARC if it cannot continue to exist. It would send many people back to the days of institutionalize disabled persons, cost more in terms of caring for these disabled adults, and take away the few freedoms they enjoy now. But even more than that, it would take these precious people out of our community and out of our lives. I cannot imagine life without our Josh around. He is the first one to remember people’s birthdays, the one who reminds us of important upcoming events, cheers the loudest for the Florida Gators, shows us that serving one another is a good thing, and teaches us that every ability we have is a gift.

Please consider donating to the ARC of Bradford County. Show Josh and his disabled friends that they are valuable, precious, and deserving of the best life possible. Your donation will ensure that educational and community based programs will continue for those served there and offset the financial cuts that they have endured from both the federal and state levels. Thank you for reading about my Josh.

To donate $1 to the ARC of Bradford County to make a difference in the lives of Josh and other disabled adults, click here. Please use “One Dollar Give” in the dedication portion of the donation form. After you’ve donated, come back and vote in the poll so that we can count donations!

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(Yes, the poll offers you the choice between “Yes.” and “Yes.” because I didn’t think we really needed to count the “No” answers, and the poll required two choices! Hey, it’s not a perfect system, but it’ll work!)