own foundation, Holly has several other charities she occasionally supports such as Pediatric AIDS, March of Dimes and Juvenile Diabetes, “I believe in the life of service and I’m very philanthropic and to be giving is the most powerful high you can ever get.” Holly joined the board of the national organization of Autism Speaks to promote awareness and to raise funds for the fight against the disease. Her efforts have not gone unnoticed and have been recognized and awarded. Some of her honors include: the American Men- tor Award, 2004 Gerald R. Ford People Helping People Award, 2004 March of Dimes Healthy Babies, Healthy Futures Award. The Huntington Disease Society Distinguished Achievement Award, the 1999 Woman of Conscience Award and
the 2006 A Place Called Home Humani- tarian Award. The Peete’s have raised their four chil-
dren to understand that living a life of ser- vice is very important, “You have to live by example, when they see how passio- nate we are with the books we have writ- ten and really being able to get awareness out there they use that as an example to set their lives by and I think it is very im- portant to continue that.” Holly hopes to continue bringing awareness and support to families and assist them in having a ful- filling life. There are over 500,000 chil- dren who have autism and over the next couple of years will become adults and will need jobs, friends and a community to support them. Holly is happy to move that message forward and do something
My Brother Charlie
By Holly Robinson Peete & Ryan Elizabeth Peete Illustrated by Shane W. Evans
A heartwarming fictional story of patience, love and acceptance, My Brother Charlie is based on bestselling author Holly Robinson Peete and her family’s own experiences with autism. In this story, told from a sister’s point of view, we meet a family whose oldest son teaches them important lessons about togeth- erness, hope, tolerance and love. In My Brother Charlie, Callie is very proud of her brother Charlie. He’s good at so many thing- swimming, playing the piano, run- ning fast. And Charlie has a special way with animals, especially their dog, Harriett. But sometimes Charlie gets very quiet. His words get locked inside of him, and he seems far away. Then, when Callie and Charlie start to play, Charlie is back to laughing, holding hands, having fun. Charlie is like any other boy – and he has autism.
about that as well. For many children, it is a difficult time, but for autistic children it is especially hard due to surges in hormo- nes that affect them differently. She hopes to potentially write a book as well as bring forth information for families who have children transitioning into adulthood. The young girl who once appeared on
Sesame Street has gone from being a well known actress to a mother and to natio- nal spokes person for autism awareness. “It wasn’t necessarily the road or path we would have chosen, but once it presented itself and we had the opportunity to make a difference, rarely do you find yourself with an opportunity to be in that place, but we are happy on where this journey has taken us.”
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