What is the Sophie Prunty One in a Million Kid Fund?

The fund was established to help Sophie's family pay for a variety of expenses. Medical, therapeutic, educational, mobility and other expenses are all covered by the fund. The following tells the story of "One in a Million Kid" Fund .

When we discovered the exact nature of Sophie's condition, we sought counseling. We were referred to a family counselor in Oak Park who was also the parent of a special needs child. Any family with a special needs child faces unique challenges. The adjustment is an ongoing one. This counselor is still helping us to build the kind of life that we want for ourselves and for Sophie.

This same counselor introduced us to the Option Institute and Fellowship. This institute was founded by a couple who had a son with untreatable autism. Rather than following the conventional wisdom of the day, which counseled the institutionalization of their son, these parents chose an a different perspective. The began to work with their son in a home based program of their own design that emphasized acceptance and a powerful, loving invitation for their son to grow to his full potential. Today, the Institute provides a training program and ongoing educational assistance for special needs families.

Sophie's fund began as a method to raise the funds for Sophie and her parents to attend the one week Son-Rise program at the Institute. The first fund raisers were successful and in 1996, we traveled to the institute for our fabulous life changing week. Upon our return, we converted one of the bedrooms in the house into a specially designed SonRise playroom. Since then, Sophie has enjoyed hundreds of hours in her playroom with her volunteers and her parents. In addition, Jody, Rick and three of the volunteers have returned to the Institute for advanced training on two different occasions. In October of this year, the director of the Son-Rise program is coming to our home in Oak Park for an "Outreach". This training allows for direct observation of our home program. We are thrilled! It is impossible to express the significance of Sophie's program and the accompanying attitude in our lives. We believe that the Option Institute and Sophie's Son-Rise program also gave us the best possible emotional preparation for the extreme medical challenges Sophie faced in 1998.

In 1998, Sophie developed severe digestive tract problems. In February, she underwent emergency, life saving surgery. Sophie spent 90 days in the hospital. All but one of those days was in intermediate or intensive care. Today, Sophie is regarded as a medically complex and fragile child. Of course, she doesn't care about all that.

Today she still enjoys work in the playroom for fifteen to twenty hours per week, two weekly sessions of physical therapy, two of occupational therapy, and mainstream kindergarten (as of this writing). She is a very happy, busy little girl who brings joy, energy and inspiration to many lives.

The Pruntys continue to maintain the "ONE in a Million Kid" Fund, established in October of 1995.

Contributions can be sent to:

Attn: Cecelia Byars, Customer Service
The Sophie Prunty One In A Million Fund
Forest Park National Bank
7348 W. Madison Street
Forest Park, IL 60130

Thank you!

Fund Raisers of the Past:

NOVEMBER 1995
JANUARY 1995
FEBRUARY 1998
SEPTEMBER 1998
CONTINUOUS...