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" FAMILIES UNITED FOR SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT, Greenfield, Ind., FUSEINC.ORG  Q &amp;amp;amp; A with Comfort Contest Honoree Denise Arland   Q: What is the goal of your organization?  A: FUSE is a parent-to-parent organization that offers information, resources and support to families raising children with disabilities. FUSE is committed to improving the lives of special needs children with their families through education and training, public awareness, advocacy, support, resources and referrals, networking, and community activities.  Q: When did you recognize a need for this organization in your town?  A: When my quadruplets, sons Jacob, Zachary, Lucas and Matthew, now all 14 years old, were toddlers and receiving early intervention services. I was volunteering as a parent-representative on our local council for early intervention services. The group decided that it would be helpful to start a parent support organization so that families could get to know one another to share their experiences and help reduce their feelings of frustration. I thought this was a great idea and asked whom they thought could facilitate a group like that (thinking a social worker or other professional) and everyone looked at me! I agreed to facilitate the first organizational meeting, and families who attended that meeting decided they would like to get together regularly to talk to each other, ask questions, and get to know more about how other families were functioning. Another mom volunteered to do a newsletter for the group, and the informal group was born. After meeting for several years, we decided it was time to form a nonprofit organization so we could raise funds to support our activities and meetings. We received our nonprofit status in April 2000, four years to the month after our first meeting.  Q: What is a typical day working on the project like for you?   A: After getting my five children off to school and getting ready for my own day, I make the short trek down the basement stairs to my home office, which currently serves as the home base for FUSE. I respond to email requests from families, professionals, and community partners, and throughout the day I respond to family phone calls that come in on a designated phone line for FUSE. That&amp;#039;s where typical ends and the adventure begins. On any given day you could find me pursuing something for FUSE. Whether it is working on a newsletter for families, updating our website, presenting to community groups, working on public awareness or marketing projects, or planning an event in collaboration with other groups\u2014each day brings something new and exciting! Currently we are balancing a number of activities, which have been funded by a grant, so I spend much of my time working on one of those many projects to move FUSE strongly into the future. Most nights after my children are in bed, I can be found in my office responding to email or working on projects that didn&amp;#039;t get finished during the day. I always seem to get a lot accomplished once everyone goes to bed and the phone is quiet for the night!  Q: What were you doing before you started this organization?  A: I was a stay-at-home mom raising my quadruplets, all of whom were diagnosed with developmental delays and disabilities. I volunteered on a local early intervention advisory council and served as the parent chairperson for Indiana Governor&amp;#039;s Interagency Coordinating Council on Infants and Toddlers.  Q: How has this endeavor changed your life?  A: FUSE has changed my life more than I ever thought possible. I began this journey as a way to meet other family members going through a similar experience to my own. I had no idea this would eventually lead to a career in the nonprofit world and relationships with so many wonderful families in the community. My years of volunteering with FUSE have increased my knowledge of disabilities and disability issues. I have met hundreds, if not thousands, of parents, professionals, and children with disabilities. Each of them has taught me, challenged me, and inspired me to learn, to grow, and to better advocate for the needs of children and families. Q: Was it difficult to get others to adopt your vision and passion for the organization?  A: Initially when we started the organization, it was not difficult at all because people shared the notion that it&amp;#039;s good for parents to connect with one another in a supportive way. As FUSE grew beyond being just a parent support group and developed into a resource center for families, our challenge has become figuring out what people, resources, and skills we need to tap into to make our new, bigger vision a reality. Because we are in a growth phase, we have a very active working board. Each of our 12 board members are involved in, or leading a project to move the organization forward. We also have a great group of parents and friends of FUSE who volunteer time to work our public awareness events, help the kids in our swim program, set up for events, and under take tasks that help keep our organization running. Q: What inspires you and keeps your approach to work, volunteering, and life fresh?  A: Hearing feedback from families that information and resources provided helped their child or family in a positive way is always a great feeling. Watching a child achieve a challenging skill or make a small, positive breakthrough during our adaptive swim program is very gratifying. Watching families transform from feeling lost and overwhelmed to feeling confident and capable of navigating systems and services for their family keeps me going every day. Q: What advice can you give for someone considering starting their own nonprofit?  A: Surround yourself with people who share your dream. Find a mentor who has been through the experience of starting a nonprofit who you can tap into for guidance. Take advantage of all the free and low cost resources in your community to learn about nonprofit management. Check with your community foundations, United Way agencies, and other local resources that you can identify by networking with other nonprofits in your community.  Q: What has it taught you about yourself?   A: When I was younger I really was not involved at all in volunteer work or charitable organizations, but this experience has helped me discover the &amp;quot;helping&amp;quot; side of myself that I never knew existed. I feel genuinely fulfilled by being able to help other families improve the lives of their children.  Q: What was your best resource for getting started?   A: The support and encouragement of the parents and professionals who helped us form the group. Q: What do you hope for next?  A: I hope to achieve our dream and move FUSE out of my basement. We want FUSE to become a resource center where families can come to get information and resources, borrow materials from our libraries, use computers and software programs that would be cost prohibitive for them to purchase, and offer programming for the kids to help them achieve success in home, school and community life. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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