It’s a wrap up for 2020 yay!!  I can’t believe it’s December with Christmas literally around the corner. In a year full of uncertainty, grief, anxiety, worry and joy I feel like I have been on an emotional rollercoaster! The significant efforts of the DDF board, volunteers and especially our community have seen us through some of our darkest of days. This year has filled me with hope for the coming year and gratitude to all who have supported me and the Foundation over the last nine months. 

 

To think in April, we were unsure if DDF would make it through the year, yet under such duress, during a time of unrest we have not just survived but achieved more than I could have imagined. From hitting 10,000 podcast downloads and launching our 40^th episode this month, running webinars with guest speakers from around the world, the establishment of new programs including Qys Dys and Mental Health and Thriving, running our Faces of Dyslexia Campaign an Australian first, to a significant amount of state and government advocacy we undertook this year. We have increased our Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram followers to over 3000 and our Facebook Community has grown to 166 people! I also had the exciting opportunity to present at the International 2020 Dyslexia Vision conference and the International Mental Health conference during the year.  

 

Our partnerships have grown stronger this year joining forces with Launch Psychology, Untapped and the Neurodiversity Hub, Hampton Park Neighbourhood House, the Equal Employment Opportunity Network, Square Pegs Tasmania, Dystech, Ross Duncan blog editor and Pointsbuild who in early 2021 will help us launch the new and improved DHub with our first eLearrning course on our brand-new learning management system. What a year!!

 

2020 will be a year none of us forget, yet as I reflect on the many downs and dark days and months especially sitting in my home in Melbourne there have also been countless positives. The resilience we have all shown as a community, a country, as citizens of this world, the ability for us to join together with a human spirit that enabled the most vulnerable in our communities across the world to be cared for. The outpouring of support that we have all shown one another, the sacrifices we have made fills me with such pride.

 

I would like to sincerely thank the DDF board, our volunteers, partners and the DDF community for all their support during 2020 and wish you all a very safe and happy holiday season.