Today is big.

This morning I woke up with my heart in my stomach and my stomach in my heart...

Today, we will find out if Montgomery County, PA selected Integrate for Good's proposal to change the game for young adults with disabilities who graduated high school, but are left on a waiting list for any kind of support.

My heart lives in this proposal, and so much is riding on a "yes."

This is the biggest day of my 30+ year career. This proposal reflects every ounce of my passion for this work, everything I learned from my doctoral research at Temple University College of Public Health and the Fox School of Business at Temple University. It includes the voices and dreams and hopes of hundreds of families who have an adult child living with autism, Down syndrome, or another disability in my own community.

These young people are lonely. They are isolated. They are unemployed. Their high school classmates went off to college, to work, or the military, to exciting next chapters. For these talented students with disabilities, their stories stopped at graduation. Our community and economy suffer with them because they are left out. We all lose when we leave talent untapped.

At Integrate for Good, we know how to empower. We know how to level the playing field. We know how to look to the sidelines and clear the benches.

This award would give us the green light to change the game. We know how to make this happen. We only need fuel on our fire. We need this funding.

For those of you who know me well, I have a remarkable ability to stay positive and hopeful. My enthusiasm is contagious. When I get lemons, I make lemonade. If one door closes, I believe it is making space for the right one to open.

But this is different. If it is a "yes," Integrate for Good will be hiring five new full-time employees with benefits, affecting the social determinants of health for hundreds of people, and moving into our own space outside of my bedroom corner!

If it is a "no," it will be truly soul-crushing.

So, with my heart in my throat, I will do what we do every day. I'll keep going.

It's funny, for months now, I've been dying to know if we were selected. Now, I'm afraid to know because if I don't know yet, it could still be a "yes." I need this to be a "yes," and so many others do too.

Thank you to everyone who has rallied with us! Your support means everything. I'll be counting on my community to celebrate with me, or to pick up the pieces.

Let's hope we're celebrating.

Dr. Bev Weinberg, Founder and Executive Director

With your support, our programs can continue without relying so heavily on grant decisions like these. Every dollar means we can reduce loneliness, and include more students in our programs.

Can we count on you to stand with us today?