Save the date!  In the latest edition of The Voice, BAF announced the next date for their gala: October 17th, 2009 in Raleigh, NC

The newsletter also included some fantastic updates:

TBAF Awards Grants over $500,000 to Programs Nationwide

The Bubel/Aiken Foundation, co-founded by entertainer Clay Aiken, announced over $500,000 in grants to support programs nationwide as part of the Foundation’s Let’s ALL Play initiative.
In just two years the Foundation has invested over one million dollars to expand Let’s ALL Play across the country. The goal of Let’s ALL Play is to assist child and youth organizations in moving toward full inclusion. In 2004, the inclusive recreational experience for children with and without disabilities was instituted by the Foundation. The Foundation will support over 30 recreational programs in 2009. Programs receive a program model and Foundation training in addition to grant funding.
In 2008, The Foundation enlisted the services of The Center for Social Development and Education at the University of Massachusetts, Boston to assess the implementation of Let’s ALL Play. Overwhelming evidence showed that campers with disabilities improved self-esteem, social skills, social relationships with campers without disabilities, general engagement in camp activities, and sport/motor skills.
The Bubel/Aiken Foundation looks to create communities where ALL children can learn, live, and play together. Because of the continued support of dedicated volunteers and the assistance of new supporters, the Foundation will give over 5,000 children an inclusive experience this summer.
“The Bubel/Aiken Foundation’s investment in creating inclusive opportunities for children will impact our country for generations to come,” said Clay Aiken.

MEAF Awards Grant

The Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation (MEAF) has announced $360,000 in new and continuing grants, raising the total investment in the Foundation’s five-year Inclusion Initiative to $3.2 million. The newest inclusion project is a joint venture between The Bubel/Aiken Foundation (TBAF) and the National Center for Summer Learning at Johns Hopkins University.
Building on a three-year partnership, The Bubel/Aiken Foundation and the National Center for Summer Learning will create a distinct and powerful new force for change in the field of summer learning for all children, especially those with disabilities. The partners will expand access to high-quality, inclusive summer learning opportunities for young people by developing a summer learning curriculum to help summer camps fully include youth with disabilities.

MDRT Grant

Kenneth R. Cassis of Cassis McLean Financial Svcs from London, Ontario is a 33-year MDRT member (www.mdrt.org). He is an active supporter of The Bubel/Aiken Foundation and recently nominated and endorsed a grant application on behalf of TBAF. Thanks to his support TBAF received an $8,000 grant from the MDRT Foundation. Thank you to Mr. Cassis and MDRT for their continued support of Let’s ALL Play.

From the desk of Executive Director ……

In 2008, we celebrated the 5th anniversary of The Bubel/Aiken Foundation and through your generous support it was a phenomenal year in which we touched the lives of over 4000 children with our inclusive programs. Across the country from pre-school through high school, children of all abilities had the opportunity to play and learn alongside each other expanding friendships and their understanding of differences.
2008 also delivered many challenges to all of us with the problems within our economy and financial system meltdown. To this effect, I wanted to share with you that The Bubel/Aiken Foundation is managed very conservatively, and although returns are down, we did not suffer any investment losses!
Our success is totally dependent on your contributions and those of other donors and sponsors and this income is tightly managed with 89% of every dollar spent going directly to inclusive programs. Through your support we were successful in having income exceed expenses as we also manage to ensure multi-year continuity of our programs.
As always a new fiscal and calendar year brings many challenges, perhaps more so in 2009 than in some years past. Our Foundation is solid and we will be supporting growth in programs this year and hopefully years to come. We are still dependent on your contributions, donations and the support of our many Beta Alpha volunteers. Together our objective should be to look back on 2009 as another year of great achievements as we collectively seek to make a difference in the lives of children!
Thank you so much for your continued financial and personal support!
Jerry Aiken

Read the entire pdf here.