The Gray Center welcomes opportunities to involve you in our mission of promoting social understanding and social effectiveness! In addition to attending workshops, purchasing books and DVDs from our web site, borrowing resources from our library, accessing our coaching and consulting services, and participating in our Young Adult Network and Community Network, we also invite you to participate in the following CONTESTS:

January Contest: Social Story Experiences

Share your experiences using Social Stories(TM), and you may win an autographed copy of Carol Gray's newest book, The New Social Story Book: 10th Anniversary Edition! Click here for more information and guidelines, and a submission form.  With your permission, your submissions may be used on this web site and/or other publications from The Gray Center. Three winners will be chosen. Each prize is valued at $34.95. Click here to read some of the testimonials from those who have been using Social Stories, and to read the names of winners.  Although the deadline is past and prizes have been awarded, you are still welcome to send us your submission forms. We may consider sharing your stories on our web site or in future publications

February Contest: Guest Authors of The SUN News

Be a guest author of a future issue of The SUN News! Laurel Falvo has been writing The SUN News since October, 2006. This weekly email article is read by thousands of parents, professionals, people with autism, and others around the world. (Click here to subscribe). Past issues can be read on Laurel's blog at http://graycenter.wordpress.com. YOU are invited to write an article to be considered for future publication as an issue of The SUN News, or for possible inclusion on this web site and/or future Gray Center publications. You can share insights about being a parent, spouse, grandparent, sibling, teacher, or friend of someone with autism, or even your personal insights about having been diagnosed yourself. You can write about topics related to autism, social understanding, or even similar topics or diagnoses. You can raise readers’ awareness about current research, resources, and strategies being used in the field. There is no deadline for submissions—we’ll take them as long as we can use them. However, anyone who submits an entry by March 6, 2010, will receive a free copy of Laurel Falvo’s new book, More Than a Sum of Diagnostic Differences: A Positive Perspective on Autism and Asperger Syndrome. Guidelines and submission form are available by clicking here.

March Contest: Enter for a chance to win $50!

The Gray Center is a “local” organization with an “international reach!” Although we have a library, workshops, and monthly meetings for people in the West Michigan area, when our phone rings, it’s as likely to be a friend from California, New York, Canada, or Australia as it is from Michigan or its neighboring states.

We would like to encourage those who have connected with The Gray Center in a variety of ways, all of which partner with us in our mission of promoting social understanding around the world. From now through March 31, you have several opportunities to connect with us (and encourage your friends and family to do the same), and on April 1, we’ll do a random drawing from each group to enable four people to each receive a $50 gift certificate toward a purchase from our bookstore at www.thegraycenter.org!

Here’s how you can enter:

1. Join our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/The-Gray-Center-for-Social-Learning-and-Understanding/75092568294?ref=ts. We currently have over 500 fans. One will receive a $50 gift certificate on April 1!
2. Sign up at www.iGive.com/graycenter to enable your online surfing and shopping to benefit The Gray Center—at no additional cost to you! Our supporters have already raised $578.09 to support our programs and services. One of them will win $50 on April 1!
3. Become a member of our lending library in Zeeland, Michigan. Many people stop in to peruse our resources, and take some home for a few weeks. If you’re in West Michigan, joining our other library patrons gives you an opportunity to win $50 on April 1! (Check our online calendar at http://www.thegraycenter.org/calendar for our open times).
4. Sign  up to receive the weekly SUN News article. You'll be registered to win $50 on April 1—but remember to encourage your friends and family to subscribe at http://eepurl.com/ekqF so that they also have a chance of winning!

You can increase your chances of winning by participating in all four areas.

Your participation with The Gray Center means that we’re ALL winners, as we work to promote social understanding around the world. Thank you for your support!

WINNERS (selected April 1): Congratulations to each of you!

-       Facebook winner: Jessy Guzman

-       Library patron winner: Rachel Keese

-       www.iGive.com/graycenter winner: Judy Doxater

-       SUN News subscriber winner: Bill Mitchell

April Contest: Autism Awareness

For Autism Awareness Month, we are giving away a grand prize of resources produced by The Gray Center, worth more than $250 (to be awarded at the end of the month)! We will also award a few autism awareness bumper stickers each week. To be registered for this drawing, you simply need to complete a very short survey indicating how you have been involved with and benefited from The Gray Center. You can access that survey here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/S83GT7X.

Bumper sticker winners: Pam Williams, Lynn Lowe, Ginger Teefey, Liz Graham, Marcia Davage, Sheri Clyde, Jill Monteith, Sharon Clark, Susan Asplund, Ann Laux, Beverly Sherman, Nadine Nordin

GRAND PRIZE WINNER: Nancy Alar won $250 worth of Gray Center resources!

May Contest: Everyone wins!

Watch The SUN News and Facebook for opportunities to save on all of your online purchases from our online bookstore! This month, everyone wins!

June Contest: Everyone Wins Through Financial Partnership

Continuing our theme of "Everyone Wins," we're looking for people to partner with us financially as we near our fiscal year-end. Every gift of any amount will be used to provide information and support to families, individuals, professionals, and others who are affected by autism spectrum disorders. Those who give $100 or more will receive a FREE copy of the DVD "Why Do They Do That? Answers to Questions you might have about people with autism and Asperger Syndrome...and Tips You Can Use to Help Them!"

July Contest: Share Your Talents and Interests

For our JULY CONTEST, we’ve created a survey where readers of all ages, with and without autism, can share information about your special interests and talents. If you choose to include your email address, you’ll be entered in a drawing to win autism pins, bumper stickers, and a $50 gift certificate to our bookstore! You can access the survey at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/T3JRSDF. WINNERS: Cassandra Sines, Debra Lander, Kitty Peterson, Mary Keiger

August Contest: A Very Special Teacher

In honor of all the teachers working hard to promote social understanding, The Gray Center is holding an AUGUST CONTEST! You have an opportunity to share your thoughts about a favorite teacher, and both you AND that teacher will have an opportunity to win resources from The Gray Center! Just go to http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/76SSBTN to be entered to win! Winners: Ellen Lunz, Leah Kelley, Stanley Jaskiewicz, Karen Bressette, Lori Liguori, Carey Rosas. Grand Prize Winners: Christi Alessi Fox and Eileen Shay

September Contest: Win a Free Resource

Our September contest provides another opportunity to win FREE resources! Simply complete a quick survey at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SXRQHSQ telling us how you might use Laurel Falvo's new DVD “Why Do They Do That?” (great for raising awareness and appreciation for those with ASD, and can be used with children, teens, and adults) or “The Social Response Pyramid KIT” (an educational tool containing everything needed to have your own Pyramid discussions) to increase social understanding and social effectiveness. If you’re selected, we’ll send you the resource for FREE! (We will award between two and ten of each resource at the end of the month). Winners: Crystal Costello, Elizabeth Glabe, Cindy VanDiver, Laura Arends, Sarah Von Kreighton, Pauline Rigby, Cassandra Sines, Robin Caskenette, Rebecca Oudbier, Elizabeth Stapleton, Kristin Burghardt, and Carole Hoskins

October Contest: Win a Free Consult

Whether you're a parent, grandparent, teacher, teen, or anyone else, sometimes it's helpful to talk to someone about a particular issue that has you feeling "stuck." Tapping into another person's perspective and experience can lead to creative brainstorming that can generate possible strategies for helping you to experience success! Simply provide a few details at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PXQF2XM  and you may be selected to win a FREE consult! (Hurry--only the first 100 applicants will be considered for this contest). 

Each month we'll sponsor a new contest, giving YOU opportunities to interact with us and win great prizes! Watch this page for more information.