Total                                                                                                                                   133.5                3,510

A Sampling of Students’ Comments:

“Thank you for helping me learn that people have disabilities.  Before you and your team, I thought

disability people were weird.  I now know how disability people have to work extra hard.  Thank you

so much.”

3^rd grade student

 “Now I understand how people with disabilities feel when people stare at them.”

4^th grade student

“I really liked the presentation.  Learning about how it’s not real funny is a big thing to me.  I never

laugh at people because if I had been that person, it wouldn’t be funny.”

3^rd grade student

“At first I was a little bit nervous, but after a while I was ok.  I learned how hard it is to be blind and how

much technology we have and anything could happen whether you’re old or young.  It doesn’t matter

whether you don’t have arms or if you’re in a wheelchair and you’re mute.  We’re not different species,

we’re just different looking. I think it was a great assembly.”

4^th grade student

 “I learned to write by looking in a mirror, learned to write in Braille, to ride in a wheelchair, learned

to use mechanical arms and legs.  But most of all, I learned to never be rude to someone that has a

disability.”

3^rd grade student

 “I learned that when I see people with disabilities I should not be mean to them or laugh at

them.  M y cousin has Downs Syndrome.  Now I know how people with disabilities feel.”

4^th grade student

“You taught me a lot of things that people have that make them different.  Thank you for letting us use

and touch your things.  I also learned people who have disabilities are no different than us.  They just need some

machinery help.  I think I will see different people in a different perspective.  People who have disabilities

are very special in their own way.”

4^th grade student

“Through these activities, I have been able to view the world in an entirely different manner.   This is one

of the best presentations I have experienced.”

Adult student

 “Using the wheelchairs and canes helped me feel like being disabled and understand the hard work that

a disabled person has to do in order to succeed in life.”

High school student

“Personal experiences really bring home the challenges met and bravery exhibited by these special

people.  This is one of my most memorable experiences.”

Adult student

“Thank you for teaching us not to laugh at someone with different abilities and to ask if they need any help.

5^th grade student

“I learned that people with disabilities could do a lot.  People with disabilities can be your friends.”

4^th grade student

A Sampling of Teacher Comments:

Anita Royston, UC Davis Early Academic Outreach Program:

“As you will see by the comments of your participants, lives have been changed, and in such little time.  For each

life you touch in the classroom, hundreds, maybe thousands will be touched through them for the rest of their

lives.  A Touch of Understanding provides a life changing experience!”

Carla Cuellar, 3^rd Grade Teacher, Quail Glen School, Roseville:

“Thank you so much for sharing the “Touch of Understanding” program with our 3^rd graders at Quail Glen

 School.  Our classes benefited greatly from the excellent presentations and the hands-on activities the children

were involved in.  We all have a much better understanding now about disabilities and how lives are affected. 

We appreciate all the time and effort put into developing this program.  Thanks again for all you and your team

do for our community.”

Nancy Reclusado, Health Academy Teacher, Sacramento High School:

“A Touch of Understanding is one of the best presentations the Health Academy has throughout the year.  The

hands-on experiences are exceptional and make our students aware of disabilities and their role with people who

have disabilities. The presentation and the people involved are absolutely wonderful.  All students should be able

to be a part of “ A Touch of Understanding.”

Michael Brown, 4^th Grade Teacher, Mariemont School, Sacramento:

“Your program brought a first-person experience right into our classroom.  The personal stories your volunteers

shared and the hands-on activities given by your coordinators were so spot on and effective.  I quite appreciate

the way you broke your program into two distinct parts.  Every single student was so absorbed and involved that

they didn’t ask for a bathroom break the entire 2 ½ hours (and that is a feat unto itself!)  The men and women

who came were so personable and engrossing…  I feel I can’t fully express how wonderful this program was for

our students.  Awareness is so incredible, and you’re helping increase it by leaps and bounds.  During a recent

parent/teacher conference, a student’s parents shared that they were out to eat and saw a blind woman enter the

restaurant.  Their daughter taught them what the colors on her cane meant.  It’s details like that which help make

the difference.  Thank you so much for an excellent program.

Judy Grayson, Special Education-Inclusion Coordinator, Heritage Oak Elementary School, Roseville:

“This program provided a new awareness to the third grade students and teachers and provided a fun and

interesting way to recognize the accomplishments and challenges of individuals with disabilities.  The children

and staff were instructed in wheeling a wheelchair, writing in Braille and encouraged to touch and ask questions

involving orthopedic appliances such as prostheses and leg braces.

We have had several disability awareness programs here at Heritage Oak to promote awareness to the staff and

students. However, this was the only program to allow the students and staff to actually experience the disability

first-hand.  It had such an impact on the students that many of them were talking about their experience

throughout the day. Several teachers expressed to me that his was “the best” and the “the most outstanding”

program they had ever seen.  Many commented that they would like to see the same demonstrations shared with

all the classes at all grade levels.”

As the teacher of full inclusion students, I believe that we should encourage the future generation to tolerate

differences and celebrate diversity with respect and gratitude.  A Touch of Understanding is an exemplary

program and should be shared with everyone.”

Teacher Responses to Questionnaires:

• 94% indicated their students demonstrated more respect for each other
• 75% of reporting teachers noted an increased awareness of disabilities on the part of their students
• 87% of teachers indicated their students had an opportunity to interact with students with disabilities
  • 81% of those teachers who felt they could answer that question reported improvement in those

interactions

• 99% think A Touch of Understanding will have a long-term positive effect on their students and would

like to have it presented to their class each year.

Our Growth and Expansion:

Our number of presentations increased this past year from 39 to 83.  Our efforts to reach out to schools that have

not yet received A Touch of Understanding has been effective.  More than 50% of the schools served this year

participated for the first time.  Most of these schools have indicated intentions to have us return.

In addition to our plans to provide presentations to these schools, we have developed a Docent Training Program

to meet the growing need.  We will be piloting this training program in the Dry Creek Joint Elementary School

District, in the cities of Roseville and Antelope.  The coming year’s efforts will be two-fold.  We will continue to

provide presentations directly to the students, while “training the trainers” for the Docent Program.  In this way

we plan to prepare to reach an ever-increasing number of students.

We are thankful that our team of volunteers continues to grow, helping us to meet this demand.

Two new board members have joined us.  Georgene Waterman and William Walker.  We are grateful for their

expertise and commitment to our mission.

Our presentation team has increased as well.  JDD Duran-Jammer, Josie Conkling, Dan Andragna, Pequita and

Mike Marasso have all joined us as speakers.  Each has a personal experience with a disability and shares their

experience and insight with the participants.

Collaboration with other agencies is becoming increasingly important.  Our partners are:

Advanced Biomechanics

Disabled Sports, USA

Learning Disabilities Association of Northern California

Placer County S.P.C.A.

Ride to Walk

A Touch of Understanding has received the following media coverage:

Ongoing television exposure through the “Caregivers Series” – Access Sacramento and KVIE

Newspaper Articles:

Auburn Journal, May 18, 2003

Press Tribune, May 10, 2003

Placer Herald, October 9, 2002, May 14, 2003

Vacaville Reporter, June 1, 2003

Magazine Articles:

Parents’ Monthly, March 2003

In Motion Magazine, a publication of the National Limb Loss Information Center, May/June 2003

We are grateful for the sponsorship from the following sources which makes A Touch of Understanding

possible:

City of Roseville Citizen’s Benefit Fund                                         $15,000.00

Give Something Back                                                                          1,399.32

Rumsey Foundation                                                                             5,000.00

California Endowment                                                                       24,955.00

USAA Foundation, A Charitable Trust                                                1,500.00

Sierra Sacramento Valley Medical Society Alliance                            1,000.00

Placer County United Way Grant                                                            541.74

United Way Campaign Funds                                                               1,696.44

Foothill Volunteer Center, Human Race Fund Raising Event               153.75

River Cats Foundation                                                                           2,500.00

Home Again Medical                                                                             1,288.00

Roseville Sunrise Lions Club                                                                   100.00

Sacramento County Association of Reserve Deputy Sheriffs               2,500.00

Citrus Heights Police Service Center                                                       500.00

Granite Bay Kiwanis                                                                                250.00

Optimists Club of Sacramento                                                                 500.00

Inkind Support has been received from the following sources:

Costco

Sam’s Club

Cooks Truck Body

Roseville Transmission

Home Again Medical

Mike Penketh

Wijit/Superquad LLC

The following individuals have generously donated to A Touch of Understanding:

(These donations were made directly to ATOU.  Many other generous individuals have donated to our mission

through United Way and other campaigns and through the Foothill  Volunteer Center “Human Race 2003’)

Jim Bell

Douglas Burnett

Dennis Chu

Janice Eastburn

Lauris and Edward Ennis

Cathy and Becky Hensley

Gertrude and Donald Howe

Judy Howes

Dorothy Hurley

Judy Licuanan

Karen Mayer

Richard and Dianne Penney

Grace and Erik Stavrand

Keri Joy Walker

Mary Walton

Georgene Waterman

Michael Wilson

James Yarrow

Mike Penketh

Total Individual Donations:             $2,460.00

Our Challenge for 2003-2004

The number of our presentations has increased 100% from 2002-2003!  The demand for our program is constantly

increasing.  However, as a result of the national economy and the state budget cuts, our funding, minimal as it has

been, is seriously threatened.  It is our challenge this year, to meet the increasing demand for presentations with

fewer resources.  To this end, we have been diligently working on strategic and tactical planning, documentation

of our program, the search for collaborative partners and the development of the Docent Training

Program. 

This coming year is sure to be challenging, but with the dedication and expertise of our Board of Directors and

our incredible team of volunteers, I am confident we will meet these challenges.

Thank you to each of you for your support of our mission of encouraging acceptance and respect for all

individuals.  Your financial support allows the students to get a glimpse into the world of individuals with

unique challenges.  You are helping to touch the lives of thousands of children and young people. 

However, the number of people you will really affect increases with each respectful interaction.  Similar to

a ripple effect when a stone is thrown into the water, your financial support of A Touch of Understanding

will touch the lives of individuals for years to come.