Who won their mortgage paid for a year?

Irish Autism Action have been running a recycling mobile phone campaign for quite a while now. It has been hugely successful and we held the draw for the 'win your mortgage paid for a year' competition last night at the IAA 5th Masquerade Ball in the Ritz-Carlton, Powerscourt.

There were 40,000 entries. Initially there were two prizes on offer, the mortgage draw and a family holiday. Given the large number of entries we also added in two iPads to bring the total number of prizes to 4.

WINNERS:

iPad2 - G Lynch, 72 Belcamp Grove, Dublin 17.

iPad2 - Owen Doyle, no address provided but we do have a phone number.

Holiday - Bryan McSweeney, 72 Kent Road, Ballyphehane, Cork.

Mortgage paid for a year - Stephen Murphy, Newbridge.

Stephen has been contacted as Keith Duffy phoned him at 1.40am, immediately after the draw, to share the good news. Stephen didn't answer and Keith left a message. Thankfully Stephen didn't think this was a joke and now knows that he has won this fabulous prize.

Congratulations to all the winners.

Some facts and figures:

The mobile phone recycling campaign has raised €254,000 to date. €184,000 of this has been given directly to familys in the form of technoloy, providing 413 families with an iPad for their child with autism. €70,000 has been given to Irish Autism Action as part of the fundraising agreement.

The campaign will run for another year, with the next 'Win your mortgage paid for a year' draw in December 2012. Keep watching because we have some exciting technology options on the way!

A big thank you to BPI Telecom for this initiative, especially to Geraldine and Brian.

iPad for Jack!

THANK YOU SO MUCH

I RECEIVED MY I-PAD YESTERDAY 

FROM ALL YOUR MOBILE PHONE DONATIONS

AND I MET 

KEITH DUFFY 

WHO CAME TO MY SCHOOL

CLADDAGH NATIONAL SCHOOL

AND MADE A DONATION FROM HIS IRON MAN RUN 

THANK YOU AGAIN

JACK O’CONNOR

More info on recycling mobile phones via Irish Autism Action for iPads.

We made the shortlist for Better Together 2011

The winner will be announced on December 1st at the D4 Berkley Hotel!

Another iPad finds a good home!

Edel shares her tips for collecting phones and celebrates getting an iPad and an iTouch for her children.  

People were so generous. My husband put up 2 boxes in the tea rooms where he works.   Nearly every day he was bringing phones home. A cousin of mine organised a box in his office and collected 42 phones. The local community creche donated 67 phones. Even the local newsagent and butchers starting collecting for us. 

It showed us there is still a sense of community if you dig hard enough and give people a reason to come together. We still have phones coming in .Have been able to pass on 40 extra phones to 3 other parents who are collecting and still the phones keep coming. We ended up getting enough for the iPad and an iTouch and are now working towards a Covertible Classmate PC for use in school. 

The day we got the iPad D. was so excited he told his big brother and sister ' wait you see I got a phoneputer'.

The iPad will make a huge difference to our boys in helping their language, educational and personal development. We have had a tough few years and services for the boys in our community are poor so it is great to have something to be excited about. Mind you, we would be lost without the ASD unit where D. goes to school. The lovely staff there have changed our quiet little boy into a more confident child who has the belief he can try to do things he hasn't done before. This will stand to him while using the iPad, he won't be afraid to explore new apps.

Thanks Irish Autism Action, you are making a big difference! 
 
 

Email geraldineP@BPI.ie if you want to register 

and recycle mobile phones for gifts.  

You don't have to be a member of Irish Autism Action to take part, 

this is open to all and everyone is welcome. 

Everyone can recycle mobile phones and get the goodies!

As of today 71 iPads have been sent out with 402 families/groups/individuals/schools registered for the recycling scheme.

This recycling business is not just for schools, individuals and groups have been collecting too. 

First, let me tell you the reward system:


85 phones - Apple iTouch with camera and Grace App.
100 phones - 15" laptop
145 phones - Convertible Classmate PC
165 phones - Apple iPad (iPad packages also available)
300 phones - Interactive white board
500 phones - Interactive white board AND full installation, training and support.

The recycled item must resemble a phone, but can have a cracked screen or other light (repairable) damage. If it still looks like a phone then recycle it! If possible we would like the phones to have their batteries, but this is not a dealbreaker.

Everyone that submits a phone, either directly in the freepost envelope or to any of the collecting group, gets entered into a draw to have their mortgage paid for a year. You can read about the first winner, drawn last February.

To get the collection pack phone Geraldine on 01 4279790 or email geraldinep@bpi.ie for your collection package. 

When you have registered, received your pack and started collecting, email me on jen@autismireland.ie. I will add you to the unofficial list I have on the Facebook group letting people know you are collecting and give you a mention, it might help!

Another iPad finds a good home.

Dear Jen & Geraldine,

I just wanted to thank you both & all at IAA & BPI Telecom who came up with the fabulous idea of recycling old phones for new devices.

We have been collecting phones for about 2 months. We have an exceptional network of amazing family & friends who collected a terrific number of phones in that time, from their friends, in their workplaces, at kids parties, they were phenomenal. And so too, is the help from yourself & Geraldine both.

We are so grateful to all concerned.

Having a child with Autism brings a steep learning curve. When that child is non verbal, this pervasive quietness falls over the house....he is silent, you eventually forget to speak yourself. You don't even notice that you haven't spoken all morning until that first word. The guilt & the desire to communicate drives you to push them, with flash cards, farm animals, books, objects 'Look, Noel....cow, look, Noel cat'. He rarely looks, he doesn't speak. Instead, he hums....& sometimes smiles.....& sometimes cries....& goes about his business.

We wait with bated breath for Noels first words, but until then this iPad represents another chance for us, to bring this child, our sweetheart, into our world. I cannot wait to get him started with the Grace App & see where we go from there. This technology is no longer a disruption to family life but hopefully a great facilitator.

Thanks to every. single. person. who helped us. In the immortal words of the 'Toy Story' aliens. 'We are eternally grateful'

Love,

Ellen
(mother to Noel)

As of last Friday there were 345 registrations with 46 iPads, 3 laptops and 5 iTouch's dispatched. Information is available in the red links above. If you are interested in registering your family or if your school wants to take part email geraldineP@BPI.ie.

 

 

Would you like to win a Resource Teacher for your School?

 

 

Irish Autism Action are offering Irish schools the opportunity to gain valuable resources such as interactive whiteboards, laptops, sporting equipment and a host of other gifts in exchange for the collection of old mobile phones. Not only is this kind to the environment but it also helps Irish Autism Action in its mission to raise the quality of life for individuals and their families affected by autism.

 

This year, any school collecting over 50 phones will be entered in to a prize draw where IAA will pay for a resource teacher / SNA / classroom assistant for 10hrs per week for the winning school for the 2012 school year!

 

To get you started, we will send out a starter pack consisting of a collection box, posters, collection bags and parent’s letter. All you need to do is send a letter and collection bag home with each student. They then deposit an old mobile phone in the bag with their name and address and return to the school. As an incentive for parents, all bags returned will be entered into a draw to have their mortgage paid for a year!

 

So there are lots of great reasons to support Irish Autism Action this year. 

If you have any questions or would like more information on how to partake, please email geraldineP@BPI.ie or phone on 01 427 9790.


Reward list:

Convertible Classmate PC 145 phones
Touchscreen 78" Interactive Whiteboard & kit 500 phones
Touchscreen 78" Interactive Whiteboard 300 phones
Benq Short-throw Projector 200 phones
15" Dell laptop 100 phones
Ken-a-vision Easi-view Visualiser 40 phones
Apple iPad 2 16GB Wi-Fi 165 phones
Samaritan PAD Defibrillator 250 phones
€100 O'Neills voucher 35 phones
€100 schoolbooks.ie voucher 35 phones


There is also a cash for phones option for phones collected to go towards anything your school may require, such as:


School field trip
Occupational Therapy equipment
Arts & Crafts equipment
Library books

If there is something your school needs that is not on our list? No problem, we will get it for you. Just talk to Geraldine on geraldineP@BPI.ie about it.

165 phones collected, 1 ipad delivered - sheer delight!

Thanks to Jacinta for sharing her story and tips on collecting mobile phones and getting an iPad.

Some time ago I saw the offer of recycling old mobile phones in exchange for technology. I thought it was good but that my grandson, Jonathan, couldn’t benefit from it.  However, just before the holidays his Speech & Language teacher suggested to his mother that the Grace App would be useful to him.  I remembered the IAA offer and decided to start collecting. It turns out that this initiative is open to everyone!

I put it on facebook on July 2nd and then panicked!!!.  How many of my friends on facebook would have old mobile phones lying around?  I was greatly encouraged the next day when a friend told me she had 9 phones, then, disheartened when others who promised phones didn’t follow through.

A friend then set up an 'Old Mobile Phones' page on Facebook and I joined it. Now I felt I had support! I made up posters, distributed them and this brought in some phones, but the best thing I did was to individually contact younger people and ask them to put it on their FB status.

A friend in our group started collecting for her son & she was so successful she had 165 in about 1 week and loads spare for me.  The rest seemed to arrive in large numbers from my younger friends.

I was able to contact Geraldine to arrange Jonathans iPad on August 11th, less than 6 weeks after starting.

Now I am a woman on a mission:- to equip all the children in the ASD unit with ipads!

Wish me luck!!


To join the initiative and get the collection envelopes phone Geraldine on 01 4279790 or email geraldineP@BPI.ie

To date we have sent out 22 iPads, 2 laptops and 2 iTouch's to families who are collecting old mobile phones. Please note there is a relaunch of the iTouch devices and therefore deliveries will be delayed until we can get our hands on the new device on your behalf. Also, this initiative is open to EVERYONE, you don't have to have a special needs child. Everyone is welcome to take part. 

For reycycling purposes old laptops are worth 4 mobile phones, Desktop towers pentium 4 or higher only are worth 3 mobile phones. Max of 2 units allowed per collection.  

Ballroom Dancing meets Mobile Phones

Amy gets an iPad.

This is Amy and she has autism. 

We live in Cork and there are nine of us in our family - myself (Stuart),my wife Deirdre and our seven children(Jessica 11, Chloe 10, Jack 8, Christopher 7, Lauren 5, Amy 3 and a half and Sophie 2).

Thanks to Irish Autism Action and help from family and friends we where able to collect 165 old mobile phones to get her an iPad. She is starting out on the road of PECs and uses the Grace App along with a lot more apps for autism.

We would encourage any families out there to start collecting. We started out using Facebook to put the word out and friends soon jumped on board and shared our story. We even had phones posted from England! You would be surprised how many people are willing to help. 

Also, text everyone in your phonebook and keep pestering people. We got two local businesses to come on board so people had some place to drop them. It took us around 2 weeks to collect 165 phones.  

We are still collecting for two more boys with autism! Just keep at it and don't be afraid to ask.

Thanks again to everyone who helped out.

Dee and Stu.

204 families have registered to date. 20 iPads and 2 iTouch's have been delivered. To register for your collection pack email geraldinep@bpi.ie . If you have a query on the initiative please email jen@autismireland.ie . 

New iPad options for people who recycle mobile phones for Irish Autism Action

In conjunction with BPI Telecom we have made some changes to the iPad option in the recycling mobile phones for great technology initiative. The idea behind this is that people were getting their iPads and then having to wait to buy a protective cover before they could use it. As someone who does not do delayed gratification well I felt that this...............well, let's just say I would find this difficult! 

BPI agreed and came up with the following options for our families and schools who are recycling mobile phones. Now, if you choose an option containing one of the packs, you will get everything delivered at the same time and your iPad will be ready for use immediately!

As of this morning there are 165 people registered to recycle phones and 17 iPads already delivered. Please note that the other options of 85 phones for an iTouch, 100 for a laptop, and the 300/500 for a Whiteboard remain unchanged and are still available.  To get the collection pack phone Geraldine on 01 4279790 or email geraldinep@bpi.ie

Bronze IAA Pack – 165 Phones

Ipad @ 165 phones

RRP €479

Silver IAA Pack- 175 Phones

Ipad @ 175 phones

+ Grace APP Voucher

Total RRP Value €509

Gold IAA Pack -185 phones

Ipad@ 185 phones

+ Grace APP Voucher + 

IAA IPAD Protector Pack or IAA Usability Pack 

Total RRP Value €613

Platinum IAA Pack – 200 phones

Ipad  @ 200 phones

+ Grace APP Voucher + 1 Year IAA Membership

+IAA IPAD Protector Pack or IAA Usability Pack

Total RRP Value €630

Pack Description

IAA Protector Pack

Otterbox Defender x 1

Essential Overlay x 1

IAA Usablity Pack

Essential Pad with stand

Essential Overlay

Stylus

Stefan gets his iPad by recycling mobile phones for Irish Autism Action

Laura shares her story.

My son Stefan has XXXXY Syndrome. It is a rare chromosome condition and one of the things with it is very poor speech.

I was on Facebook when I noticed a posting if you collect 165 old phones you could get an iPad. Because it was on the Irish Autism Action Facebook Page I didn't think we would be able to join in. I contacted Jen to see if we could get one and you couldn't feel my delight and excitement when she said everyone could take part.

So our mission began, we needed to get 165 phones. I posted up on Facebook to get phones for Stefan so that he could communiate with us. The first week we received around 25 phones. I kept checking the bag wishing, hoping and praying that we would get more. I asked everybody and anybody that I knew if they would help us.

Two of my old friends, whom I hadn't seen for a while, were just fantastic. One of them collected 40 for me and the other friend had over 20. All of a sudden my phone bag was heaving! It started to look as if we could make this happen. Another friend of mine emailed her family in England as she was travelling over for the weekend to see them .She came home with another 20 phones. She was so good bringing them back with her as she had to explain at the airport why she had so many phones in her bag. As soon as she explained she said that they just checked the phones and then let her through.

I found once people knew that Stefan needed phones they were really happy to help. They said that it was great for once to be able to do something for Stefan. Two of his friends have special needs and their mothers also collected many phones for us.

One day we decided to count and put all Stefans phones into their bags. To our delight we had our 165 phoned with some over. We are going to give these phones to another family in our area who are collecting also.

We got our iPad on Wednesday and I emailed Jen straight away to get information and tips on getting apps for Stefan. I can't wait to have it all set up for him, we know will make our little man very, very happy!

Note from Jen:
We currently have 165 families registered to recycle mobile phones in exchange for a device. 17 iPads have been sent out with another 3 (so far) going to their new homes next week. If you have any old mobile phones around the house please consider sending them in to Irish Autism Action or to a family near you who is collecting. Email me on jen@autismireland.ie and I will put you in touch with the family nearest you.

You can register to join in by emailing geraldinp@bpi.ie or phone Geraldine on 01 4279790.

Hair cut Club for children with sensory issues - Sharkey's Malahide Tuesday 30th August 2011

Due to phenomenal success Sharkey’s Cuts for Kids Malahide will run another haircut party afternoon for children whohave sensory problems and who find a haircut overwhelming and stressful.  

The salon will be closed to the public and they will make sure noise is kept toa minimum.  The salon is bright and airy and they have a large fish tank,and playstation and wii set up at the hair cut seats to distract and calm thekids. 

Children are also free to bring along a favourite game, toy, movie or dsthemselves.  Children can also  chill out upstairs in a quiet roomwhere there will be a movie on and pizza available.  

Please feel free tocall out to John at the salon and let the children have a familiarisation  visit inadvance if you think it will help. 

Cost will be € 14.   

If you are interested in your child beinginvolved in the Hair Cut Club, please contact Linda Fleming at087 6694802 or Linny@iol.ie .  

Numbersare limited to 10 children so please let her know asap to register.

Next Date :  Tuesday 30^thAugust 2011 4pm – 6pm.

Sharkeys Cuts for Kids Malahide have a Facebook page where you can keep up to date with events such as this. 

They have also, very kindly, put a mobile phone recycling box instore to help out the families recycling mobile phones to get iPads for their children via Irish Autism Action. If you are attending the hair cut club please bring along any old mobile phones you have that are not in use. 

Another family gets an iPad by recycling mobile phones!

Annette took delivery of an iPad for her son this week. She got it by recycling old mobile phones via Irish Autism Action and she shares her adventure here.

A few months ago I decided that I would take the plunge and join Facebook. I had some friends who were emigrating and some that were already gone. I wanted to keep in contact with them so up went my account. I wasn’t sure how to get it working at the start but quickly discovered some pages that I liked. One of them was the IAA Facebook page.

I read all the posts but one particular one caught my eye. Everybody can recycle old mobile phones for Goodies! When I read on I saw the options, I thought 'yes we could really do this!' I started out with the iTouch in mind but soon discovered that we would have enough phones for the iPad.

I knew that I had a few phones in a drawer and nearly every house had so I put up the post on my page and got a pretty good response. Then I sent out a text to all my friends, and sent the same text from other family members phones. Everybody got involved, Grandparents, Aunties, Uncles, Cousins. Everybody!

When my pack arrived from Geraldine and I saw all the envelopes I thought I would never do it but slowly the mobiles started to appear, one at a time. Then I would get messages and texts from friends and cousins to let me know that they had 5, 10 or maybe more collected for me. We started off putting them in a lunch box but this only lasted about a day because before I knew it I had 60 phones, then it just kept growing. At one stage I was even dreaming 'mobile phones'! I was thrilled because I knew that the iPad was something that David would really enjoy and he was my inspiration to keep collecting.

So the day came when my mobiles were collected and in a strange way I was nearly sad to see them go!!

Last Friday our iPad was delivered. We spent a day or two getting it ready and on the advice of my lovely friend Jen from IAA we ordered an otterbox defender case to keep it intact! We also downloaded some Apps for him (more advice from Jen was needed for this one), some that we had to pay for and others that we got on trial. (The trial is a great option because chances are the child will get fed up with the apps and they will have to be changed on a regular basis.)

So off we go on Sunday on our family holiday 4 of us plus our most prized possession, our Ipad! Hopefully, as well as being an education aid for David, it will come in very handy for Breakfast / Dinnertimes, car journeys etc.

What I would say to all other families trying to collect: you can do it, persevere and you will get there!

Email Geraldine on geraldinep@bpi.ie if you want to register for the scheme.

Get great technology for recycling old mobile phones

If you have any old mobile phones around the house text 'Mortgage' and your name and address to 51444 to get prepaid recycling envelopes sent out to you. Just put the mobile phone (it doesn't need a battery or charger and can even be lightly damaged) into the envelope and drop it into your nearest postbox. Each envelope will get you an entry into the draw to have your mortgage paid for a year. You can read about the previous winner here.

Alternatively, if your family or school would like some great technology  then see 'Everyone can recycle mobile phones and get the goodies' for details on what you can get for recycling old phones.The phones can be damaged and don't need batteries or chargers. If it resembles a phone recycle it!



85 phones - Apple iTouch with camera and Grace App.
100 phones - 15" laptop
165 phones - Apple iPad
300 phones - Interactive white board
500 phones - Interactive white board AND full installation, training and support.

There is also the story of Tess who collected 165 mobile phones to get an iPad for her son Dan, aged 6, with autism.We currently have about 90 families collecting old mobile phones to get an iPad for their special needs child!! If you have some mobile phones around the house check this list of families who need your help. Contact the family nearest to you and send them your old phones, they would really appreciate it. Email me on jen@autismireland.ie if you have any queries about contacting someone in your area.

This isn't limited to families with special needs children though, anyone can take part. Feel free to chat with Geraldine and start up your own collection. 

If you are interested in collecting for the technology rewards email geraldinep@bpi.ie or phone Geraldine on 01 4279790.

Win your mortgage paid for year by recycling mobile phones

If you have any old mobile phones around the house text 'Mortgage' and your name and address to 51444 to get prepaid recycling envelopes sent out to you. Just put the mobile phone (it doesn't need a battery or charger and can even be lightly damaged) into the envelope and drop it into your nearest postbox. Each envelope will get you an entry into the draw to have your mortgage paid for a year. You can read about the previous winner here.

Alternatively, if your family or school would like some great technology  then see 'Everyone can recycle mobile phones and get the goodies' for details on what you can get for recycling old phones.

There is also the story of Tess who collected 165 mobile phones to get an iPad for her son Dan, aged 6, with autism.We currently have about 40 families collecting old mobile phones to get an iPad for their special needs child!!

If you are interested in collecting for the technology offers email geraldinep@bpi.ie or phone Geraldine on 01 4279790.