About ONF

Thank you for visiting our website, it is a work in progress, but our goal is to make this a resource for families that have been impacted by Autism. As the site expands, we hope that it will provide a forum for discussions as well as provide information that is so desperately needed.

The Foundation’s primary mission is to increase awareness of Autism and to provide financial support for education, therapies, families and research organizations that enrich the lives of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Our hope is that this foundation will provide children with Autism the the tools they need to thrive.

Our son, Nicholas, was diagnosed with Autism at the age of two.

Just 5 years ago, Autism was a disorder that was barely spoken about. Now, in Temecula alone, recent studies show the percentage of children diagnosed with Autism has gone up 316%. In Murrieta, the autistic population has gone up 650%.

During this same time period the overall school population only increased 34%. When Nicholas began receiving in-home therapy and pre-school services through the Temecula Valley Unified School District, we found out quickly the funding provided wasn’t enough to allow these teachers and aides to have all of the tools they needed to help our son. Many teachers were and still are buying their own supplies.

When we first started in 2004, we decided to raise funds via various means, but after getting our non-profit status in late 2005, we decided to have an ‘Auction for Autism’ and have grown from there. Our goal was to eliminate all of the red tape and have educators be able to submit wish lists directly to us so that we could purchase items and supplies for them. To date, we have purchased over a 1500 items, including computer equipment and software, occupational aides, physical and speech therapy tools, and even funded all that was necessary to open three new classrooms for which funding was not available.

Now with so many families, friends, volunteers and business partners we are able to accomplish so much more than we ever thought possible. Thank you so much for all of your tireless volunteer work, financial support and most of all…understanding!

Mark & Kathy Anselmo, Founders

2010 Non-profit/Charity of the Year – Temecula Chamber of Commerce