“Easter Seals was our raft”
by Beth
The article below was featured in our May eNewsletter. We love sharing Easter Seals news, so if you’d like to receive our eNews every month, sign up here.
An Army Reserve Specialist about to be deployed to Afghanistan for a year, Richard Mariello was worried about leaving his family behind.
“We were nervous,” his wife, Lynn, says. “We aren’t your typical family.” Indeed, in addition to their teenagers, the Mariellos have fostered more than 20 children over the years.
Fortunately Easter Seals was able to help the family through predeployment, deployment and after Richard returned home. From gift cards for necessities like groceries and gasoline, to connecting the family to sources for home repairs, Easter Seals provided one-on-one support.
Today Richard is happy to serve as the Easter Seals 2013 National Adult Representative.
“We felt like we were swimming,” he says. “We’re strong swimmers but sometimes we got tired and needed a life raft. Easter Seals was our raft.”
When you support Easter Seals, you make it possible for us to meet the pressing needs of America’s heroes: military, veterans, their families, and families of the fallen.