Tag: autistic

Kerry Magro’s Nonprofit Awards 3 Grants to Small Businesses That Hire People with Disabilities; 27 Recipients in 4 Years

Posted on by kfmmakingadifference348

(December 28, 2023) – Dr. Kerry Magro Ed.D., an adult with autism and Founder/President of KFM Making a Difference (a New Jersey based non-profit corporation), announced his organization’s grant to three (3) small businesses that hire people with disabilities.

These businesses include: Marc Fasulo Designs, MOD Market and Spectrum Designs Foundation.

With their wins, 27 businesses have received grants in the past 4 years.

 “With those with disabilities more likely to be unemployed or underemployed compared to their non-disabled peers, I wanted to do something to make a difference.”

The grant was launched in September of 2020 on KFM Making A Difference’s website. This was when Magro noticed unemployment in the disability community on the rise because of COVID-19. All applicants were encouraged to discuss why it’s important to give people with a disability a chance to find meaningful employment. These small businesses combined have hired over 66 people with disabilities.

In Fall of 2012, KFM Making a Difference launched one if it’s first initiatives in its scholarship program. Thus far KFM has given out one-hundred and fifty (150) scholarships in total to help students with autism to go to college. Kerry Magro, founder of KFM, is a professional speaker, best-selling author and movie consultant. Kerry was nonspeaking till 2.5 and diagnosed with autism at age four. Today, Kerry travels the share his story about autism and to support other kids with autism on their roads through life.

Among the topics Kerry discusses is the power of communication, disabilities in the workplace, bullying prevention, the transition to adulthood for those with disabilities, how to succeed in school with a disability and much more! Recently Kerry just hit over 1250 in the past 12 years which included being one of the first people on the autism spectrum to ever give a ‘Talks at Google.’ Kerry talks regularly to businesses as part of lunch-and-learns and other types of special events about the ROI Benefits of Hiring People with Disabilities in the Workplace. In addition, Kerry has recently collaborated to become an affiliate partner to promote the products of The Chocolate Spectrum, an artisan chocolate company in Jupiter, Florida that was started by an autism mom to help find employment for individuals like her autistic son.

Their next small business grant will be available in 2024 which you can apply for now here. To help them continue to give out this grant you can make a tax-deductible donation here. If you are interested in learning more about Kerry’s background or sending him a media/speaker inquiry you can contact him anytime here.

20 Autistic Students Receive College Scholarships; 150 Recipients in 11 Years

Posted on by kfmmakingadifference348

(December 21, 2023) – Dr. Kerry Magro Ed.D., an autistic adult and Founder/President of KFM Making a Difference (a New Jersey-based nonprofit corporation), announced his organization’s award of college scholarships to twenty autistic adults, including:

Aaron Rhodes (Booneville, AR), Addyson Soderquist (Lufkin, TX), Alexander Passoni-Torres (Broken Arrow, OK), Andrew O’Donnell (Morresville, NC), Christopher Lewis Lacey, WA), Connor Tang (Weston, FL), Emilia Keane (Downingtown, PA), Erika Ekblaw (Chesterton, IN), Fiona Garner (Dahlonega, GA), Jacob Cheatham (San Diego, CA), Jinn Janpathompong (Amherst, MA), Jordan Hernandez (Las Vegas, NV), Josef Marlow (Tallahassee, FL), Lola (Bo) Green (San Antonio, TX), Luke Friedel (St. Peters, MO), Maxwell Goodridge (Jacksonville, FL), Mckenna Chada (Indianola, IA), Noah Labrie (Manchester, NH), Veronica (Phoenix) Pederson (Davis, CA)

With this latest round of scholarship awards, Kerry Magro and KFM have now awarded one-hundred and fifty (150) scholarships to autistic students in the last 11 years.

Support our Nonprofit and our initiatives like our Autism Scholarship Program here.

This year KFM Making a Difference was able to give out twenty (20) scholarships for autistic students for college thanks in part to proceeds received from the nonprofit’s book Autistics on Autism: Stories You Need to Hear About What Helped Them While Growing Up and Pursuing Their Dreams which reached several Amazon best-seller lists in 2022. So with that, they could give twenty scholarships to some bright students on the autism spectrum. This was the most scholarships the nonprofit has ever announced in one year. Autistics on Autism was released on March 29, 2022, and featured the stories of 100 autistic adults, many of whom were previous KFM Making a Difference for Autism Scholarship Recipients.

“As an autistic child who dealt with many obstacles, I’m honored to be able to give back to our community in this way. When I started this scholarship program, I never imagined we’d get to the point of giving 150 scholarships to autistic students for college. Over 130 young autistic adults applied.” says Dr. Kerry Magro Ed.D., founder and CEO of KFM Making a Difference. “I always wish we could give even more scholarships each year, which is why our nonprofit needs to continue to receive donations to support these students.”

The twenty scholarship winners were accepted into the following colleges…

College of Liberal Arts at the University of Texas Austin, College of Southern Nevada, CSN College Station CSU Sacramento, Flagler College, High Point University, Florida International University Iowa State University, Ivy Tech Community College, San Diego State University, Texas A&M University, University of North Florida Pacific Lutheran University (PLU), Reinhard University, University of Central Arkansas University of Central Florida, University of Delaware, University of Massachusetts Amherst and University of Tulsa

In Fall 2012, KFM Making a Difference launched its scholarship program. Thus far, KFM has given out one-hundred and fifty (150) scholarships to help autistic students attend college. Kerry Magro, the founder of KFM, is a professional speaker, best-selling author, and movie consultant. Kerry was nonspeaking till 2.5 and was diagnosed with autism at age four. Today, Kerry travels the country to share his story about autism and to support other autistic kids on their roads through life. Among the topics Kerry discusses are the power of communication, disabilities in the workplace, bullying prevention, the transition to adulthood for those with disabilities, how to succeed in school with a disability, and much more! Recently Kerry has spoken at over 1250 events over the past 12 years, including being one of the first people on the autism spectrum to ever give a ‘Talks at Google.’ He gives talks as part of student assemblies, educator staff development, and professional development, along with keynote and breakout sessions

Today, according to the Center for Disease Control, 1 in 36 children are diagnosed with autism, while more than 700,000 young autistic children will reach adulthood within the next decade. A few years ago, U.S. News & World Report highlighted KFM Making a Difference as one of the only nonprofits to give out scholarships to autistic adults pursuing a post-secondary program in the U.S.

Their next scholarship application will be available in 2024, which you can apply for now here. You can make a tax-deductible donation here to help them continue to give out this scholarship https://kfmmakingadifference.org/donate/. If you are interested in learning more about Kerry’s background or sending him a media/speaker inquiry, you can contact him anytime here. You can purchase a copy of Autistics on Autism here.