Dear Friends,

Welcome to June! It is hard to believe the first week of June is almost over and Awareness Month is behind us. Thanks to your efforts in sharing your stories and spreading awareness, this past May was one of our strongest yet. As we kick off summer, we are excited to share all the great things we have coming up including some exciting opportunities for you to give to Apraxia Kids. Let’s give a special shout out to all of our Dads who are strong supporters of their apraxia stars all year long. Find something special for them in our NEW Apraxia Kids Store to recognize them!!

Throughout Awareness Month, Apraxia Kids hosted a variety of events such as You Asked, We Answered, Twilight Walk Talks, and Apraxia Book Readings! We had so many great questions and responses, look for new You Asked, We Answered videos throughout June, including Spanish ones! All of these new videos are available for viewing on our YouTube Channel! During Awareness Month, a total of 297 proclamations were filed in 6 countries; including, 3 cities or states outside of North America, 41 U.S. states, 204 U.S. cities and counties, 5 Canadian provinces, and 42 Canadian cities and municipalities. Countless landmarks across the globe turned blue, and various awareness and fundraising events took place. A complete recap of Awareness Month, including our special shoutouts, can be found by visiting the Awareness page on our website.

One of our exciting new programs we launched during Apraxia Awareness Month is our new virtual peer-to-peer support groups for teens ages 12+ with Elina Csapo, an Apraxia Star! This virtual support group meets on Sundays at 7pm Eastern. Elina provides a safe place to discuss each weekly topic such as “what song represents apraxia” or “what are our superpowers”. These topics start the conversation but you never know where the conversation may go! You can register your Apraxia Star here!

Next month our National Conference will be taking place July 11-13 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This unique conference experience allows parents and SLPs to network, support each other and further their knowledge of a variety of topics around CAS. If you have not registered yet, we encourage you to do so today as sessions are filling up and our discounted room rate at the official conference hotel will end on June 12th.

This fall, we will host 63 in-person Walk for Apraxia events along with a virtual Walk. We invite you to register and celebrate that special Apraxia Star in your life all while spreading awareness and raising critical funds to support all of the programs here at Apraxia Kids. June kicks off our Team Sign Challenge, providing a personalized sign to carry on Walk day for all teams that have 5 individuals registered AND collectively raise $500 by July 31st. Please visit our Walk for Apraxia page to find the Walk closest to you. Remember, registration for the Walk is FREE. Do you own or know of a business that is looking to get involved with the community? Consider asking them to sponsor your local Walk for Apraxia! Sponsorship starts at $100!

Apraxia Kids cannot develop and provide new resources without the financial support of the apraxia community. There are numerous actions you can take to help in small ways. We are pleased to share that you can now round up when shopping online at Walmart! Our team has put together this short informational video detailing how you can round up your order when shopping online at Walmart. In addition, we have created a variety of summer graphics that you can utilize as you are planning your Be the Voice or Walk fundraising events.

Apraxia Kids is so grateful for each of you. WE ARE a strong community supporting one another each and every day. Every dollar raised makes a significant impact on our organization and the work that we do. Thank you for being our partner and for your continued commitment to Apraxia Kids!

Angela Grimm
Executive Director