Thank you!

We would like to thank the Tour de Palm Springs Board of Directors for their generosity to the Integrated Learning Institute. We are greatful for the opportunity to participate in the annual fundraiser that supports Coachella Valley organizations. This year we received $5,000 to be used towards our program. Thank you again to all who made this possible, from CVSPIN to the athletes to the community volunteers.

Background Information

When someone cannot learn efficiently, it becomes a family and then a community issue. One of our goals is to reduce the impact learning disabilities have in the community. Adults with learning disabilities are often unemployed, under-employed, dependent on family members into adulthood, on public assistance, or part of the criminal justice system. Students with learning disabilities are the most likely to drop out of school and are a large part of the juvenile offender population.

As much as the student needs help, the student's family also needs intervention. We have found that parents do not know how to parent these often puzzling children. It is not uncommon for families faced with rearing a child with learning disabilities to be overwhelmed. Many families do not understand the education system or their rights within that system. Many families would like to provide educational support at home but they do not understand how to help their child with homework. These families need direct instruction and support to be successful in meeting the needs of their child.

Why Help is Needed

• Twenty-eight percent of students with learning disabilities drop out of school.
• A disproportionate number of juvenile and adult inmates have learning disabilities. The average cost to incarcerate a youth for one year is $43,000.
• NILD Educational Therapy is not provided in public schools because it requires individualized attention at least twice a week and a concentrated effort of at least three years. It is also considered to be too expensive. However, NILD Educational Therapy is much less expensive than providing special education services for a child for his entire school career and then continuing, perhaps, to provide social services for the same person into adulthood.
• Even in the private sector, this training is denied many needy children because of the expense involved. Many families who are desperate for help for their children cannot afford this intervention.
• Twenty-five years of independent research confirms the success of NILD Educational Therapy (see the NILD website at www.nild.org for details). Over 1,500 educational therapists in 42 states, as well as in over 46 countries, use NILD Educational Therapy techniques.
• Not only do students become independent learners when taught according to NILD techniques but they develop a strong work ethic. They recognize that their progress is the result of their own hard work and their new ability to learn and solve problems. They move from an attitude of learned helplessness to an attitude of confidence.
• Specific criteria must be met before a student "graduates" from Integrated Learning Institute. The student's academic achievement must be at or above grade level. The student's teachers and parents must agree that the student is able to meet the challenges of his classes independently with no accommodations or modifications from the school and with only minimal age-appropriate help at home.
• Even students who do not complete the entire program show marked improvement as reported by their teachers, parents, and the students themselves

Scholarship Fund

Annual school year tuition for sixty (80 minute) sessions of educational therapy comes to $6,000. This comprises roughly 48% of the cost incurred to provide NILD Educational Therapy. Fundraising and contributions provide the additional funding. In addition, scholarships are available to families who cannot afford tuition.

Partial scholarships are awarded based on need as determined by ILI's board of directors. Scholarships are renewable annually.

All donations to the scholarship fund are tax deductible.

Contributions

Integrated Learning Institute depends on the generosity of its donors to provide training for independent learning and living for our students. Please consider ILI when you plan your charitable giving. ILI gratefully receives cash donations as well as gifts of property, stock, and other items of value.

All contributions are tax deductible as allowable by law.

Fundraisers

Our annual dinner/auction helps to raise funds for scholarships, ongoing staff development and operating expenses. We gladly accept items of value to offer at the auction. All donations of tangible goods are tax deductible. We receive gifts all year toward this event. Please contact us if you have items to donate.

Volunteers Welcome!

Integrated Learning Institute works hard to keep expenses down. You can help us in this regard by volunteering your time and talent! We need grant writers, graphic artists, office helpers for data entry and management, community liaisons, a librarian / historian, administrative assistants, research assistants, special event coordinators, and volunteers to research opportunities to make our work better known in the community. We have an ongoing need for volunteers to help procure auction items and serve on the auction committee.