The Handiest Girlie Of All

Kate Winslet's foundation The Golden Hat: Talking Back to Autism

It makes me incredibly proud to work on this effort to bring awareness to the plight of people with autism. I believe that all people with autism should be given the opportunity to learn to communicate, receive a suitable academic education and experience social relationships. 

 

Only then can they truly live a meaningful life.  Please explore our website and learn more about the many ways you can help!

 

 

Yo Dona Award from Amothers courage on Vimeo.

 

Who could say no to Kate Winslet?

Apparently, not a single soul.

She's candid, funny, and drops the F-bomb in that charming way that only the British can. And she's got George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Tom Hanks, Justin Timberlake, Angelina Jolie, Anna Wintour, Sting and, of course, her Titanic co-star and close friend Leonardo DiCaprio among other A-listers rounded up for a special project to help raise awareness for autism.

 

 

"Even I can't believe it," says Winslet of the overwhelming willingness of stars wanting to be involved with The Golden Hat: Talking Back to Autism (Simon & Schuster, $29.95), out today. "The truth is, I don't really know these people. They're not my friends. I am just like everyone else … I don't really know that many famous people, that's not my life. I'm a mum, I go to work, and then I'm a mum. It really was a case of bribing people for phone numbers."

The premise was simple: take a picture of yourself wearing a "golden" hat provided by Winslet — a favorite fedora plucked from the actress' own closet — and answer the question, "if you could only say one thing, what would that be?" The resulting 100 self-portraits and their words are featured in the book. Proceeds go to the Golden Hat Foundation, founded in 2010 by Winslet and Margret Ericsdottir to improve the lives of people with autism.

Why autism? Winslet is a mother to 11-year-old Mia and 8-year-old Joe — neither of whom has the developmental disorder. But in 2009, she provided the English-language narration for the Icelandic documentary, A Mother's Courage: Talking Back to Autism (originally called The Sunshine Boy),produced by Ericsdottir about her son, Keli Thorsteinsson, now 14 . He lives with a severe form of non-verbal autism and is unable to speak.

Winslet and Ericsdottir became "very close, very quickly," says Winslet, 36. Upon returning home after working on the narration, "My daughter, who watched the documentary with me, turned to me and said, 'Could you imagine if I couldn't tell you I loved you?'"

The thought, says Winslet, was mind-blowing. "I had this feeling of, 'I need to do something else.' It wasn't just a case of 'what can I do to help the cause?' It was something much more profound than that." The idea for the book hit Winslet "while I was brushing my teeth. I'm like everybody else, in a way, you think of an idea like that, you know, we all have to start somewhere."

The celebrity photos, taken in wide-ranging locales including bathrooms, inside dressing rooms and on movie sets, all feature the exact same hat, which Winslet proudly clutches in her lap. "I've personally taken it everywhere (for the book)," she says. "If I couldn't, I'd try to find someone who could."

Winslet says her favorite photo in the book comes from Michael Phelps. "Phelps had just won his eight gold medals, and Mia and Joe are big swimmers and so they had seen him win every single one. I had an opportunity to go to a training session that he was at in Baltimore, so I drove the kids and they met Michael Phelps and swam in the pool."

The men, says Winslet, took much longer deciding on a photo than the women. "Ben Stiller was (with the hat) in the men's room of a cafe downtown, and actually, I'm sure he wouldn't mind me telling this story, but he was in there for like 20 minutes. I was like, 'Dude, what are you doing?' "

Stiller was no doubt searching for the perfect snapshot all in the name of a good cause. Winslet, who admits at first she knew "shamefully little" about autism, rattles off one statistic after another. "I'm not a doctor or a scientist, and I don't have a cure, and I'm not trying to find a cure," says Winslet, who speaks passionately on the subject. "But I'm certainly trying to get people to open up their mind to what this condition actually means to these individuals, and to also find a way of breaking down those barriers that do surround these individuals which more and more push them into a world of entrapment."

As for Keli, "he does know that I'm famous … he knew that I was the girl for Titanic, even though he'd never seen the film," says Winslet, who spent Thanksgiving 2010 with her children, Keli and his mother in Austin. "It is like family. He's so grateful, and expresses that. He still can't speak, and may never develop functional speech."

Winslet realizes there's much at stake. "Here's the other thing: None of this may work. And that's a huge risk that you take. But there's no point in life sitting around and saying, 'well, maybe.' I don't want to live my life on any kind of (expletive) maybe."

But what's in it for Winslet? "Nobody's asked me that," she says, pausing for the first time during her chat. "I suppose it gives me another choice in life. Another choice to be able to try and make some changes for people that really need some changes to be made. One more choice, one more privilege."

With that life of privilege comes many questions, and when one is raised inquiring into the actress' romantic prospects, she plays coy. "I tell you something, now, more than ever, there is literally no turning back on the personal privacy thing," says Winslet, who announced her split from husband Sam Mendes in 2010. "The gate has fully come down, and I just won't talk about my private life. … It's no secret I have gone through a substantial amount in my private life, and I'm just done with having that debated upon, and discussed and ultimately judged because that is what people do, without meaning it. I'm sure I do the same thing. I'm not up for discussion anymore when it comes to that stuff."

On a professional level, Winslet begins filming a drama, Labor Day, with Josh Brolin and director Jason Reitman this summer, but won't go into much detail. "I have such a tempting fate about talking about it before I play the character … just a little quirky (expletive) kind of thing."

One thing she will talk about is Titanic's return to the big screen on April 4, when it will make its 3-D debut. "I do feel very excited about it, because I can tell that a whole new generation is going to get to experience the film," says Winslet. "Mia and Joe still have not seen it. So it is very exciting that I can actually sit with them — together — and we can all watch it together in a movie theater, and that is going to be quite amazing, actually."

Seeing herself in 3-D form was something else, says Winslet. "I was literally like, ''Oh my God, make it stop! Is that me? Oh my God, that's me.' "

 

USA Today

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CNN Heroes:When a wheelchair is an 'unthought-of luxury' (Richard St Denis)

Watch 'CNN HEROS:ALL-STAR TRIBUTE'

SUNDAY,DEC 11TH LIVE 8ET 5PT

For decades, Richard St. Denis has advocated for the rights of Americans who, like him, are living with a disability.

But the attorney from Colorado saw his life shift in 1997, when he was invited to speak in Mexico.

"I was asked to bring one wheelchair to give to somebody," he remembers. "As I was waiting for the program to begin, I was shocked to see people using branches for crutches, being pushed in wheelbarrows and crawling."

The lone wheelchair went to Leti Elizale Marcial, a 17-year-old suffering from polio. She had never walked a day in her life, and she was carried around daily by her mother.

"I saw how happy she was, but I looked around and saw the other people that had nothing," St. Denis said. "Their life was going to be exactly the same, and one wheelchair was not enough. I just felt someone had to come and help."

So once a year from 1997 until 2004, St. Denis would load a van with 10 to 15 donated wheelchairs and drive 30 hours -- from Colorado to Mexico -- to distribute them to people with disabilities.

Now, he has a permanent residence in the country and a nonprofit, World Access Project, that provides custom-fit wheelchairs, walkers and canes to people in rural Mexican communities.

"We want to distribute the more than 75,000 wheelchairs we estimate get thrown away in the U.S. every year," said St. Denis, 56. "What we call our trash becomes their riches, and it makes an incredible difference in their lives."

 

The used wheelchairs are collected from hospitals, nursing homes, medical supply businesses and individual donors from across the United States. With help from a U.S.-based nonprofit, Hope Haven, the wheelchairs are refurbished by senior citizen volunteers and prison inmates in Iowa before being shipped to Mexico.

St. Denis' group also began purchasing mobility equipment from a company in Mexico that makes wheelchairs designed for use on the country's rough terrain.

St. Denis said the wheelchairs provide recipients with more independence, access to job opportunities and the chance to pursue a social life.

"Before it, I didn't know anyone; I was in the house," said Marcial, who is now 32. "After I got my chair, it was like I was born again. I went out, and I got to know other people with disabilities when I'd thought I was the only one. I also started working, and I have my own house now. I'm married, and my 2-year-old girl thinks of Richard like a grandfather. I really am thankful for all of his support."

The mission of World Access Project goes beyond a one-time gift.

"We don't just give them a wheelchair and say, 'Adios,' " St. Denis said. "We develop relationships, and we teach people how to use the chair -- not just as something to sit in. Volunteers from the United States come down a few times a year to help make the recipients' homes more wheelchair-accessible, and we host classes and camps to teach people how to play sports with their chairs."

St. Denis has become a familiar face throughout Mexico, where an estimated 2 million people have some form of disability, according to a government housing census. He is frequently welcomed into homes and greeted kindly wherever he goes, and he has formed relationships with other organizations that serve people with disabilities.

He believes his project's popularity is due, in great part, to a personal connection to the people he serves.

"I understand what they're going through, and they know I understand," St. Denis said. "We're conquerors of the limitations in our life."

In 1976, St. Denis fell while skiing in Lake Tahoe, California. The result was a severed spinal cord, a surgery-filled hospital stay and the rest of his life in a wheelchair.

"I thought (it) was a horrible tragedy," said St. Denis, who was an airplane mechanic in the Air Force at the time. "I woke up every morning wishing I was dead ... angry at God for taking the ability to walk away from me. ... I just stopped wanting anything for my life."

St. Denis rejected most forms of assistance from anyone. But with time -- and inspiration from a wheelchair-bound veteran he befriended -- he eventually "adjusted" and found a new purpose.

St. Denis said he is now content and comfortable in Mexico, where he lives and works for 10 months out of the year. But he acknowledges that he has received some criticism from friends and family in the United States.

"People say, 'it's too dangerous in Mexico; why do you go there to help when you can help people in the United States?' " he said. "I feel like God has called me to do this. They need a presence here, and what I'm doing is teaching other people so that when the day comes when I can't come to Mexico anymore, the people of Mexico will continue doing this work. That would be the biggest dream that I could ever imagine."

Through World Access Project, St. Denis has helped more than 500 people in Mexico. He has also made lifelong friendships and learned that personal losses can be used to transform the lives of others.

"One day, someone said, 'Richard, I want to thank you for giving up your legs so we could have a better quality of life,' " St. Denis said. "I didn't intentionally give up my legs, but I feel like I gave up something to help other people. I know people's lives are getting better quality of life,' " St. Denis said. "I didn't intentionally give up my legs, but I feel like I gave up something to help other people. I know people's lives are getting better in Mexico. I feel really great to be part of that."

 

CNN asked St. Denis for his thoughts on being chosen as one of the Top 10 CNN Heroes of 2011.in Mexico. I feel really great to be part of that."

Since 2008, Richard St. Denis and his nonprofit, World Access Project, have provided hundreds of wheelchairs and mobility aids to people living with disabilities in rural Mexico.St. Denis and his group also teach recipients how to use their chairs and maximize theirquality of life.

 

CNN: Where were you when you got the call that you'd been selected as a Top 10 CNN Hero?

Richard St. Denis: I was at home in Santiago Casandeje, Mexico. I was completely surprised.

I am honored to be one of the Top 10. The door has been opened to show the world the huge need for wheelchairs in Mexico, the plight of those who are stuck in their house because they can't move, and all the lives we are changing.

CNN: What do you hope this recognition will mean to the World Access Project?

St. Denis: I hope that many people and organizations will come alongside of World Access Project to help provide mobility and a better quality of life to the many disabled of Mexico. ... I hope that people will realize that poverty is poverty and (that) those who have so much (should) help those in desperate need, in whatever country.

I hope new volunteers, individuals or organizations -- from schools, churches -- will come to Mexico to give away a wheelchair, to encourage, to inspire and to change a life.

I started this organization because I saw the happiness, joy and ability of Leti, a 17-year-old girl who I gave her first wheelchair. When American volunteers participate in a wheelchair donation, they realize the huge difference they can make in another person's life and the unexplainable feeling of watching someone get up off the floor into their first wheelchair. The one who receives the wheelchair laughs, and the mother cries tears of joy.

I hope that not a single used wheelchair in the U.S. will ever be thrown into a dump and that every wheelchair that is sitting in a garage or basement will now be given to someone who desperately needs it.

I hope this award means we will be able to provide a new life and opportunities to all those in Mexico who deserve to be as independent and successful as people with disabilities in the U.S.

CNN: How will you use the $50,000 award that you receive for being selected as a Top 10 CNN Hero?

St. Denis: Every penny will go to World Access Project to continue the work we're doing.

In the past couple months, our financial levels have been dropping, and I was wondering if we would last another year. We have new cities we want to go to, and there are thousands of people in Mexico who need wheelchairs.

CNN: What do you want people to know most about your work?

St. Denis: In many rural, impoverished, uneducated areas of Mexico, people don't even know what a wheelchair is. They don't know what their disability is or why they can't walk. They have no hope, no expectation for the future, and no resources to change their situation. ...

We host clinics and camps to teach them how to use their wheelchairs so they can get out of their house. We use able and disabled volunteers to encourage them and give them hope. The Mexican government is trying to help, but doesn't have the financial resources or connections in remote areas to contact or help everyone. Many people in tiny pueblos have no electricity, dirt floors and cook using a wood stove. For a person with a disability to have a wheelchair is an unthought-of luxury.

I have seen the lives of many people changed after receiving a wheelchair.

Kike, who fell out of a tree when he was 12, is now an artist and helps support his family. Tomás was in a car accident, is now married, works in Walmart and has been promoted from greeter to the electronics department. Leti is married and has two children.

(With) a wheelchair, some motivation, a new perspective, love -- a new life is created. No degree, no training, no qualification is necessary. Just a willingness to provide mobility, motivate and encourage are all that is needed to help someone get to where they never imagined they could be.

 

CLICK HERE TO VOTE FOR Rich St Denis for CNN HERO 2011

 

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20 Causes in 20 days(Cause #14 – Sacramento Area Emergency Housing Center )

Cause #14 – Sacramento Area Emergency Housing Center

As the winter weather rolls in, it’s easy to turn the heater on in our home, curl up in front of the TV, and spend an evening with family.

What if you and your family had no TV, no heater, no home?

Unfortunately, many families are in this situation. The Sacramento Area Emergency Housing Center is a Family Shelter program that helps families transition from being homeless to being able to get back on their feet again.

It’s a program that was founded in 1972 to help focus on the needs of seven families, but has blossomed to serve 500 people per day across all 14 of its various programs.

As they serve hundreds of families, there are likewise a significant amount of children in the SAEHC program.

My task this evening was to help set up and supervise a Birthday Magic party at the Mather Community Center. Each month, the Birthday Magic program sets up & hosts a party to celebrate the kids’ birthdays that month. The party I was a part of tonight was for the kids ages 1-3.

There were ten kids celebrating birthdays this evening. I hung out in the corner at the toy slide, and this seemed to be the most popular spot for the youngest kids. I hung out in the corner at the toy slide, and this seemed to be the most popular spot for the youngest kids.

None of the kids could talk very well, but we communicated perfectly. I’d pick each one up and put them on top of the slide. They’d slide down and the process would repeat. This continued for twenty minutes.

It was clear from the amount of kids and the frequency with which they made the loop, that the slide was the main attraction. I found a lot of humor in the static electricity. The kids would be at the top of the slide with their hair sticking straight up.

It was a classic moment that reminded me of my youth. I have a picture of me in my crib, ca. 1978, with my hair sticking straight up off my head. I couldn’t help but laugh each time one of the kids had ‘crazy hair.’

The kids knew it too, and they milked it. It seemed like they’d deliberately shuffle their feet on the slide to get that static electricity firing, just to make me laugh.

Just as the fun on the slide was kicking into full gear, it was dinner time, with presents after.

The younger kids were placed in the half-circle baby table. The image of them eating their mini-slices of pizza is timeless, cute, adorable, unforgettable, and many other baby-riffic adjectives.

They had their pizza, and we cleared the plates off for the cake and candles for the true ‘birthday boy’ Nathaniel. He was the only one whose birthday was that exact day, and boy was he treated right!

He got a cupcake with a candle, which another of the volunteers blew out. We sang Happy Birthday to him, and he got to dig into his cupcake. The other kids were then served dessert, and as most kids do, they absolutely loved their sweet treat.

Once they had devoured their birthday cake, it was present time. While they each got a small gift, Nathaniel hit the mother lode this evening. Six huge presents, including brown shoes, two outfits, a toy radio, and a colorful toy scooter.

The kids were all about ‘helping’ Nathaniel open the presents. He was very excited about being spoiled on this evening, though his relatively calm demeanor may have suggested otherwise.

After presents, the party came to an end. The parents came to pick up their children, and each received a Beanie Baby as another gift for their birthday.

Not having any kids, this was definitely a fun but exhausting evening for me. What a constant bundle of energy they are!

But knowing the struggles their families had endured to get here, it made me happy to know that they were able to enjoy a fun birthday party with their friends that they might not have had without the help of SAEHC.

There was another party going on simultaneously, for the 11-14 kids. I didn’t get to make it to that party, though I heard there was karaoke. Since I am now a seasoned karaoke veteran after starting this project, I was a little disappointed that I didn’t get to participate.

That said, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the young kids party. It was nice to see the gratitude on the parents’ faces as they picked up their happy, smiling kids. It felt good to know that our time on the slide together had undoubtedly made their day.

SAEHC is looking for volunteers to help with these types of events. If the events, which typically are sponsored, are not staffed by those sponsors, volunteers are welcome and encouraged. There are a myriad of volunteer opportunities across all their vast network of programs. Volunteer information is below.

It was a fun, exhausting evening that was just a small piece of the big picture SAEHC puts together to create an empowering, encouraging environment for the families who are in the process of getting their lives back together.

It was an hour spent with some great kids who may or may not remember this particular party, but I will certainly remember it and feel good that I helped these families enjoy their experience en route to getting back on their feet.

Sacramento Area Emergency Housing Center

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