April Charity Partner: Next for Autism

Who Are Next for Autism?

Founded in 2003 by Laura Slatkin and Ilene Lainer, Next For Autism is a charity that aims to design, launch, and support programs and services for people with autism. People with autism deserve to live as fulfilled a life as those without; rather than existing in an ableist society, people with the condition should be able to access all the services they need to have a productive and empowered life. 

This means those with autism and their families are connected to their community. While many charities do great work to educate doctors on advocacy or to fund necessary scientific research, Next for Autism is all about a human approach—putting the people first. That’s why the organization is determined to create education, clinical, and vocational programs of excellence to fundamentally change the current attitude toward autism.  

What Do They Do?

Next for Autism offers a range of opportunities and programs to change the attitude surrounding this condition and give individuals with autism (and their families) full support. Some of these include: 

Next Connects

Next Connects is an excellent mentorship program that provides support to young autistic adults entering the workforce. It assists in building greater inclusion in the workforce and fostering greater acceptance within businesses. It does this by matching professionals with already established careers with graduates entering the workforce, allowing young autistic people to progress in their careers with support and guidance. 

Next Grants Program

Next for Autism offers grant programs to support and advance exciting initiatives that focus on empowering adults with the condition. This helps these individuals lead the fulfilling and productive lives that they deserve. While this grant program primarily funds existing organizations, the funding is crucial to keeping programs running and aiding their successes. 

Grants are always given to organizations with a people-centered approach. For example, these programs consider the needs of autistic adults in critical areas of life, such as their work, home life, and social well-being.

Workplace Inclusion

Being autistic can prevent one from entering the workplace because of ableist attitudes or application processes. That’s why Next for Autism offers a range of printable and online resources to help individuals with autism. These resources include videos, the Next Connects mentorship program, and online referrals and information. 

How Can You Help? 

This organization still needs your help to thrive! That’s why you can share, serve, or support this charity in its efforts.

Share

Following Next for Autism on social media, spreading the word, and inviting speakers from Next for Autism to your corporate events (if you’re a business) is a great place to start. 

Serve 

You can help serve this community by joining the NEXT Gen Board or getting involved in the Next for Autism Fellows scholarship program. 

Support

Finally, you can support this charity by donating or setting up a fundraiser.

Looking to Give Back? Shop Casely!

Next for Autism is a fantastic charity with many programs helping the lives of autistic adults here and now. But every organization needs support, and that's why this brilliant charity is part of Casely's #everycasecounts initiative. 

When you buy a case from Casely in April, some of the proceeds will go to this fantastic charity. And remember that any time you post about your case with #everycasecounts, Casely will donate $1 more to the charity of the month.