My wife, Kerri, and I have adopted five children. Trae, our middle child, has autism. He was developmentally delayed and did not walk or talk until he was 2 1⁄2. At the age of three, he was diagnosed as being on the Autism Spectrum. His pediatrician at the time told us Trae was the way he was, and he would not change. Well, that was not good enough for us! After much research, we decided to try diet changes and nutritional supplements in addition to the therapies he was already receiving. The changes were amazing. Since we began this journey, Trae has made leaps and bounds! The combination of therapy services, diet, and biomedical treatment has helped Trae blossom into the young man he is today! Last year, our youngest child, Eli, was also diagnosed with autism. He is 15 years old and is in eighth grade. As a family, we continue to look for ways to help both of our children make progress and develop.

The Kids & Dreams Foundation was created in part from our family's life experiences and the sad reality that is occurring in our nation today with bullying. The foundation provides resources, educational conferences, camps, and anti-bullying support to kids and their families experiencing autism and bullying. We feel there is such a need to bring awareness and education to these two areas.

• About 1 in 36 Children have been identified with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
• 63% of youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder say they have been a victim of bullying.
• Every 7 minutes a child is bullied.
• It is estimated to cost at least $17,000 more per year to care for a child with ASD.


During the year, the foundation provides an annual Autism Conference for parents, family members, and professionals. Our signature program is called Operation Shine Camp for children ages 7-12 with autism or related conditions. In 2025, we will be providing two-weekend camps. The first will be on June 6-8 and the other one will be on June 27-29. Both of them are at Covenant Cedars Bible Camp near Hordville, NE. The foundation will also be providing a one-day camp on May 31, 2025. We continue to look for other campgrounds to grow the camp so we can provide this life-changing experience to even more children. The foundation provides an autism parent support group. We have teamed up with UNK to offer this important piece for families. Our pilot support group is currently meeting in hopes that we can expand this option for more parents next year. We also provided a sensory friendly movie this year in Kearney for families who have a loved one with autism. Our hope is to be able to do that again next year. New in 2024, we added a Kids & Dreams Family Camp in October at Camp Kitaki near Louisville, NE. We had five families join us and it went extremely well. It was an opportunity for families to make memories together. We are looking to expand this camp opportunity to multiple locations in 2025. Along with this, we are in the process of starting a Down Syndrome Family Camp as well next year.

Will you join us in helping reach out to these children and enrich their lives? We want each and every child to have goals, enjoy their childhood, and "DREAM BIG!". Thanks so much for your time and support. It is truly appreciated.

The Shelton Cornerstone Bank is providing $10,000 in matching funds exclusive to the Shelton organizations participating in Give Where You Live. Thank you, Cornerstone! We appreciate your generosity.