Welcome to Designed To Deliver Hope!

  This site's only purpose is its dedication to humane fundraising projects. Presently, it is dedicated to Sage Allen, a five-year-old girl with severe Autism whose mother is raising money to buy an Autism Assistance Dog to Sage. The dog will make a huge difference for both Sage and her mother.

  You can take a look at this sweet little girl at her blog, http://sageallen.blogspot.com. Sage can't speak, and is unable to follow most directions. Not being able to communicate her wants and needs can make her so frustrated that she screams, throws herself down on the ground, and bangs or hits her head. She has such an overwhelming urge for sensory experiences that she is compelled to find and eat anything gooey, edible or not. She will walk away from her caregivers and never look back, not responding to her name. Everyone who knows her can see she's a very bright little girl, but it takes a lot of work to connect with her.

It would help Sage and her caregivers tremendously if she had an Autism Assistance Dog!

  An Autism Assistance Dog can do amazing things for a child with Autism. One of the most important things one of these dogs can do is to track a child who is missing. A dog can improve the quality of daily life as well. Autism Assistance Dogs provide a completely accepting friend for a child who is not able to reach out to others. The dog gives a way for the child to make connections with other people as well.

There are a couple of ways you can help Sage get her dog:

• Buy a t-shirt with the ASL symbol "I Love You". Five dollars of every shirt purchased will be donated to Sage for her dog. The t-shirt can be ordered from "Spreadshirt.com" where Eva Dacey has created a shop with the purpose of donating the profit to Sage. Eva will not receive any money. The cost goes to the company for producing the t-shirts, and the $5 she added to the cost will be sent to Sage's fund. Here is the link to order the t-shirts: http://www.spreadshirt.com/shop.php?sid=20270&op=articles

• You can make a direct donation of any amount to:

   4 Paws for Ability

   253 Dayton Ave.

   Xenia, Ohio 45385

  Make the check payable to "4 Paws", and put Sage Allen's name on the memo line. This gives her account credit for your donation, and 4 Paws will mail you a receipt for tax purposes. You can keep track of our progress at http://sagedakotahnews.blogspot.com/

  "4 Paws For Ability" is a nonprofit group that provide service dogs to people with disabilities. They are the first organization to offer this special kind of service dog. Their web site http://www.4pawsforability.org explains "we take the child with Autism and all the difficulties they have with verbalization, communication, and social relationships and pair them with a well trained quality service dog specifically trained to meet their unique needs; to create a consistency in the child's life as their dogs go everywhere that they go, even within places of public accommodation and the educational system, bringing along with them: consistency, stability, and calm reassurance that the feelings of anxiety or fear are not needed because the trusted buddy is by their side." What an incredible gift!

  Each person who needs a dog is required to do fundraising for

4 Paws for the amount equivalent to the cost for training their dog. An Autism Assistance Dog with Search and Rescue abilities costs $12,000. As of April 2006, Sage had half the money to get her dog!

  Amazingly, every family who has begun the process has met the requirement. Sage needs one of these dogs! It will make a huge difference in the quality of her life. Sage may not be able to say the words to thank you, but she has a big hug for anyone who wants one. Thank you so much for considering helping to make life better for this little girl.

Creator of this project:

Eva Dacey, an individual who wants to make a difference.

She can be reached at evadacey@yahoo.com