Utah Valley: Heart of Utah

ut with different conditions,” adds Mark.
“With United Angels, they all belong.” One
of their member families has adopted several
children with varying conditions. Recently
Bigler, who had persuaded the Lecks to
enlarge United Angels, had another child
born, this time with Down syndrome.
The foundation supports families through
interaction, education, and resources, including
newborn visits, parent lunches, online
chat forums, youth and family activities,
and parent education seminars. As of 2015,
United Angels actively supports over 1,087
families in ninety Utah cities.
United Angels prides itself on being entrepreneurial.
A great example was the launch of
iPads4Angels in 2013. Inspired by feedback
from member families, the foundation sought
a way to provide iPads—powerful technology
aides for special needs children—to Utah
special education classrooms.
Since the 2013 launch of the iPads4Angels’
technology grant program, 75 special education
classrooms in 52 schools have received
iPads—affecting more than 1,000 students in
five counties. Shortly after launching, Apple ®
reached out to United Angels and invited them
to its headquarters in Cupertino, California, to
discuss the program and ways to work together.
In 2015, they collaborated on adaptive technology
training for Utah Special Ed Educators,
the first of its kind in Utah.
United Angels has provided more than
fifty educational seminars designed to address
parents’ concerns and struggles. Examples
include estate planning, IEP training, occupational
and physical therapies, behavioral
interventions, ASL training, marriage classes,
and leveraging technology when educating
children with special needs.
Hundreds of parents have received home
or hospital visits upon diagnosis of their
child’s condition. United Angels sends a
parent of a child with the same condition to
offer support, mentoring, and information.
More than 700 families have received support
phone calls from another special needs
parent. Nearly a dozen families have been
supported through UAF’s annual Sub4Santa
program. In one instance, their Sub4Santa
gift helped a single mother move her family
from a friend’s spare bedroom by locating an
apartment and making a deposit. Another
family received much needed dental work,
while another received therapy for their son.
The foundation offers more than forty
networking, family and educational events
annually. Families interact and learn from one
another and gain access to information and
resources to help them better serve their child.
Since organizing in 2007, more than 20,000
people have attended events, and United Angels
was recognized by Intermountain Healthcare
in 2010 as part of its Select 25 Awards and by
Red Cross in 2014 as Community Heroes.
United Angels headquarters is located at
1411 West 1250 South, Suite 310, in Orem
and at www.unitedangels.org.
✧
Above: Mark and Amber Leck with two of
their four children. The Lecks established
United Angels after their first child was
born with Down syndrome.
Below: Jill Austin, executive director
of United Angels, and her family, Joby,
who has Down syndrome, Jeff and Jalen.
QUALITY OF LIFE
207