AUTISM ADVOCACY
Moved by Melissa’s determination, vision, and dedication, Mike decided to make it official, taking Cookies For iPads under the wing of the nonprofit as an
ongoing Make It Fit project. As a team, they have
been able to purchase and give away over 200 iPads,
to date.
Cookie Production Line
etc) for a common cause – something that was not
there before.
In 2011, a friend tagged Melissa in a Facebook post
about The Make It Fit Foundation’s Autism Motorcycle, a custom built motorcycle covered in perfectly
airbrushed puzzle pieces and other stunning visuals
representing autism. Melissa reached out to Make It
Fit Founder, Mike Hoover, and explained the Cookies
For iPads project. The next week, Melissa provided
an iPad for Mike’s son, Adam, and later that summer,
Make It Fit auctioned a basket of Melissa’s cookies for
$2,500. Melissa jokes, “I officially broke the record for
world’s most expensive cookies!” The rest, she says, is
history.
Melissa Satterfield and her husband Dave have been
married for 10 years. Together, they raise three adorable (and totally rotten) little boys – Davey is eleven,
Chase is nine, and Dalton is four. Melissa has two
degrees – one in nursing and another in forensic pathology. She currently works as a surgical physician’s
assistant in a facility near her home. Her husband
Dave works for the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation, and is a tenured police officer currently
employed part-time as a Deputy in Richland County.
They reside in Ashland, Ohio.
Since 2006, Cheryl’s Cookies & Brownies has been a
proud sponsor of The Make It Fit Foundation, supplying cookies to be sold, or auctioned, at fundraisers.
When Mike learned about the mission of Cookies For
iPads, the connection seemed obvious. Since 2011,
when Cookies For iPads became an official Make It
Fit project, Cheryl’s has provided thousands of dollars’ worth of merchandise for sale and auction to
support the program. “The ultimate goal,” says Mike,
“is to create a packaged fundraiser that would allow
parents, schools, therapy providers, and other organizations in need of iPads for therapeutic purposes
a means to fundraise through cookie sales and earn
the devices they need.”They’re in the beginning stages of this partnership, but as Melissa says – the future
of Cookies For iPads is bright.
If you would like more information about The Make
It Fit Foundation and the Cookies For iPads program,
or to apply online, you can visit their website at
http://www.makeitfit.org/cookies-4-ipads/. You can
also visit them on Facebook and Twitter.
THE MAKE IT FIT FOUNDATION
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheMakeItFitFoundation
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MakeItFitAutism
COOKIES FOR IPADS
Facebook: https://www.fa cebook.com/CookiesForiPads
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cookiesforipads
Nikki Stiles and her fiancé, Chip Curry, have been
together for almost five years. Together, they have
three children – Taylor is thirteen and Savannah is
ten. Both reside in the home. Caiden is twenty-two
and graduated valedictorian from Full Sail University in Florida, where he currently resides. Nikki has
volunteered for The Make It Fit Foundation as the
Communications Director and general jack-of-alltrades for the past nine years. She has a degree in
Web Graphic Design from DeVry University and currently resides, with her family, in Lexington, Ohio.
Autism Parenting Magazine | Issue 44
| 53