Donna Aldridge - who has a 3-year-old son with autism and a 19-month-old daughter with developmental delays, was nominated by her husband, Keith.
According to the Web site for the program, a nominee can participate in three contests, all with cash prizes. The one with the most votes in each contest wins.
The three categories are:
Most Humorous Mom - $5,000
Most Inspiring Mom - $5,000
Most Popular Mom - $25,000
Voting in online only, and you can vote as many times as you wish.
The winners will be announced during a special program on NBC-TV on Mother's Day, May 11.
On the Net: America's Favorite Mom. http://www.americasfavoritemom.com
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TEXT OF KEITH ALDRIDGE'S NOMINATING LETTER:
Text of Keith Aldridge's nominating letter:
I am nominating my wife Donna to be America's Favorite Mom. We have two children, a 3-year old son with autism and a 19-month old daughter with developmental delays.
My wife gets up every morning at 4am to prepare us breakfast and get the household "organized" for the day.
She is the eternal optimist, trying to see the good in everyone and everything. Her dad died of a heart attack when she was just 10 years old, & her mom died of a brain aneurysm when she was just 27. She often says that "if you want more of something in your life, give it away first." She has created her own family from a network of friends & co-workers.
Donna's favorite saying is that a "stranger is just a friend you just haven't met yet" and she embraces everyone as if they were family. Motherhood for her is not about how much one can give, but rather how much one can inspire others to action. She consistently leads by example & is passionate about embracing others caring for children with special needs while managing a full-time therapy schedule for our own children.
She is a tireless volunteer at our kids' preschool, Challenged Child and Friends (CCAF) and in the community. For the past two years, she has served as the Helping Hands Coordinator for the local MOMS Club (Mothers Offering Mothers Support) where she coordinates volunteers to deliver meals to other families during the birth of a baby, illness, hospitalization, death, or other family crisis.
If you ever ask her what she would do if she won the lottery, she'd say, without blinking, "create a nation-wide network of schools for children with disabilities." In fact, when she found out about this nomination, she only agreed to do it so long as any and all money she won would go straight to CCAF, with the goal of expanding its programming both locally and nationally.
"The preschool has been my saving grace," she says. "As autism diagnoses reach epidemic proportions, we as a nation need more schools like CCAF to empower these special children and their families as they attempt to find quality education in settings specifically designed to meet their unique needs. CCAF has created a one-of-a-kind program that offers a network of on-site nurses, therapists, counselors and credentialed, skilled educators.
These gifted professionals give children and their families increased levels of confidence, skills, and hope for the future while providing the community with a strengthened group of citizens. Typical kids learn along side children with special needs in an integrated setting. The typical kids raise the bar and encourage the children with special needs to reach for the stars while the special needs children teach everyone about love, unconditional acceptance, and toleration of differences."
Raising awareness for autism and sharing the magic of CCAF is her dream and passion and I would like you to vote for her to make that dream of hers come true.
Sincerely, Keith Aldridge, Gainesville, Georgia.
Donna Aldridge with daughter, Julie
http://accesswdun.com/article/2008/2/206753