Sky's the Limit of Acadiana
Sky's the Limit of Acadiana is a 501(c)3 public charity in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana. We have been raising funds to fulfill our mission in support of autistic individuals and their families.
"ROCKIN' AUTISM & RAINBOWS TO REMEMBER"
is our annual fundraiser to be held October 23, 2021 at Sugar Mill Pond!
Our Story...
Karen Pohlman Juneau founded Sky's the Limit of Acadiana in 2011. This local non-profit raised $250,000 for the "Acadiana House," one of fifteen group homes in a development that had its groundbreaking on June 28, 2018 and ribbon-cutting ceremony on May 1, 2019. These fifteen group homes will provide residents of the St. Mary's Residential Training School (established in 1954) with their own bedroom in eight-room homes at the Brock-Springer Community, rather than living in dorms.In June 2011, after much encouragement, Karen began the establishment of “Sky’s the Limit of Acadiana” as a non-profit, public charity with the vision to work toward the development of a residential community for residents with special needs.
Originally, our non-profit envisioned spearheading the development of "Larimar Landing" then quickly realized that there were other non-profits and families with the same vision and the need for a safe, protected community to be integrated into Acadiana providing residential, vocational and recreational opportunities.
Sky's the Limit of Acadiana combined our efforts with DREAMS Foundation to work toward our mission for "Unity Village Community" to become a reality and we realized the need for this kind of community more and more every day. "Unity Village Community" has now become a DREAMS Foundation project, while our efforts focused on the Group Home Development Project at St. Mary's Residential Training School.
| OUR MISSION The mission of Sky's the Limit of Acadiana is primarily to be instrumental in the development of residential options for special needs individuals, to be an advocate for Autism, to support families of Autistic individuals & to assist other Non-profit organizations with their fundraising efforts, thus building unity in the special needs community. |
How the dream of "Sky's the Limit of Acadiana" began...
Sometimes a person needs to go through challenges in their life ..before they see the light shine on their “purpose in life.” Over the years, Karen Juneau, founder of Sky's the Limit of Acadiana, has had health issues bombard family members and changes in her own life including the inevitable “aging process” and “empty nest syndrome.” Karen's son, Skyler, is autistic and lived at a residential living facility in Alexandria, St. Mary's Residential Training School. Karen dedicated twelve years to try “fixing” her son investigating almost EVERY treatment possible and modifying every day of her family’s life. The Juneau family has never made Skyler an “excuse”; Skyler is always the “reason” they do what they do.
Karen knows first hand that as parents, sometimes we have to let go of “selfish pride” when we reach a point where we realize we can't provide everything our children need. Sometimes we have to let go and let others, that will make a greater impact on the development of our children, take over after we reach that point when we have done all that we can do. Karen knows first hand that for a parent of a special needs child, things are more complicated.
Autism is a developmental disability that cannot be “fixed.” As a parent, we try every treatment possible to help our children improve at a steady rate at which they are capable. Autism is a “spectrum disorder” which means that there are varying degrees of involvement and functional abilities. Our children are like snowflakes… there are NO TWO ALIKE.
"With “Sky’s the Limit of Acadiana”, I now feel like I have has found my “purpose in life.” Now I know why I was a Girl Scout for so long and why I am Junior League-trained to be a professional “beggar.” I am not afraid as a “trained volunteer” for people to tell me, “No.” I have the personality to solicit with a smile and I have been told that I have a gift to help make fundraisers successful. Being a Physical Therapist, I have a medical background and I understand medical terminology and the special needs population. I have always enjoyed helping with fundraisers & friends would ask me, “You help all these organizations with their fundraisers… just for the fun of it? Are you crazy? You need to channel your passion into a specific cause that will directly benefit your family somehow.” This is how “Sky’s the Limit of Acadiana” evolved." ~Karen Juneau, Founder |
Karen has extensive experience meeting community-minded people through her involvement with many fundraisers. She is always impressed with the generosity of people willing to donate money for sponsorships, items for silent auctions and food and drinks for events. As the founder of "Sky's the Limit of Acadiana", Karen now meets with organizations that are holding fundraisers, helps to identify their needs and assists them to acquire sponsorships, silent auction donations, food & drink donations, photography packages for the event, music from bands that will play for charity benefits, goodie bag donations, and assistance with T-shirts, printing needs and creative planning. The two vital areas that she most enjoys is helping with pre-event promotion, including promoting the sponsors that are supporting the event, and post-event follow-ups to “thank” the sponsors & donors.
There are so many opportunities to make a difference through community service and "Sky's the Limit of Acadiana" is always willing and looking for ways to help. Karen's philosophy in life is to try to make each day better than the day before.
Thank you for your interest in helping "Sky's the Limit of Acadiana" and supporting our Mission!
We are always looking for volunteers. Click here to find out how you can help!
Please visit our Facebook page for all the details on our UPCOMING EVENTS!
Click here to join us of Facebook!
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605 Palfrey Parkway
Youngsville, LA 70592
email:
email: rockinautsim1@gmail.com
