Autism Speaks

About: Autism, or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), refers to a broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication. According to the Centers for Disease Control, autism affects an estimated 1 in 36 children in the United States today.

We know that there is not one autism but many subtypes, most influenced by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Because autism is a spectrum disorder, each person with autism has a distinct set of strengths and challenges. The ways in which people with autism learn, think and problem-solve can range from highly skilled to severely challenged. Some people with ASD may require significant support in their daily lives, while others may need less support and, in some cases, live entirely independently.

Several factors may influence the development of autism, and it is often accompanied by sensory sensitivities and medical issues such as gastrointestinal (GI) disorders, seizures or sleep disorders, as well as mental health challenges such as anxiety, depression and attention issues.

Mission: Autism Speaks is dedicated to creating an inclusive world for all individuals with autism throughout their lifespan. We do this through advocacy, services, supports, research and innovation, and advances in care for autistic individuals and their families.

• Ensure access to reliable information and services across the lifespan
• Support research and innovation that improves quality of life and well-being
• Leverage advocacy, partnerships, and collaboration to strengthen services
• Accelerate solutions for adult needs like transition, employment, and housing
• Live and promote principles of diversity, equity, access, and inclusion

HomeAid Orange County

About: Since 1989, HomeAid Orange County was founded with the goal of ending homelessness by leveraging the trades within the building industry. Our first housing project was a renovation of a farmhouse in the City of Irvine in 1989. Established by the Building Industry Association of Southern California, Orange County Chapter, we primarily construct housing for nonprofit service providers and public entities that serve people experiencing homelessness. Our unique model, centered around in-kind donations of labor and materials from our building industry partners, saves a minimum of 30% of market costs on each HomeAid housing construction project.

As HomeAid, we believe that housing is a human right. Every person deserves a safe and dignified space to call home. Each HomeAid project brings us one step closer to our goal: building a future without homelessness.

Mission: To help people experiencing or at risk of homelessness build new lives through construction, community engagement, and education.

Ronald McDonald House OC

About: Children heal faster when they are with their families. At the Ronald McDonald House Orange County, we see it every day. And while the Ronald McDonald House Orange County may not be able to make the medicine taste better or erase the pain of a much-needed treatment, we can help lessen the burden for the families we serve. Since 1989, when our Ronald McDonald House opened, we have been making children happier and healthier by keeping families together, giving them a place to rest and refresh. Then we expanded to meet the urgent needs of our community, with the addition of two Ronald McDonald Family Rooms located inside two area hospitals.

Mission: To provide comfort, care, and support to children and families in Southern California.

OC Rescue Mission

About: The men, women, and children who enter the gates of the Orange County Rescue Mission come from many walks of life and are all wounded in different ways. Some are highly educated, many are survivors of abuse, addiction, and abandonment. None of these people ever imagined they’d be homeless, and they all need our help.

Mission: To minister the love of Jesus Christ to the Least, the Last, and the Lost of our Community through the provision of assistance in the areas of guidance, counseling, education, job training, shelter, food, clothing, health care, and independent living communities.

Didi Hirsch

About: Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services has provided mental health, substance use disorder and suicide prevention services since 1942. Dedicated to serving communities where stigma or poverty limits access, Didi Hirsch provides quality, compassionate care to more than 189,000 annually people across its programs. We work with children and adults from 11 locations and 74 schools throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties each year. Our award-winning whole person mental health care services are fully accredited by a breadth of leading organizations.

Didi Hirsch is home to the nation’s first and largest Suicide Prevention Center, which served and trained more than 175,000 individuals in 2022. Our crisis counselors provide support to over 450 individuals every day through the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

More than 1,000 dedicated staff and volunteers make Didi Hirsch’s work possible today. Our cumulative impact in supporting mental health over 80 years is significant. Highlights of our growth include:

• Helping more than 1.8 million individuals in the last 15 years
• Quadrupling the number of children and families served in the last 20 years
• Expanding our direct services for children and families by six-fold over the past 30 years
• Increasing our outpatient substance use treatment services by over six-fold in the last 30 years
• Increasing the number of adults served through our outpatient programs by four-fold in the past 30 years

Mission: Our mission is to save and transform the lives of children, adults and families through world-class, whole-person mental health care and suicide prevention, including where discrimination and injustice limit access.

Teen Challenge SoCal

About: Teen Challenge is a non-profit organization that relies entirely on the generous donations, funding and volunteer efforts of both individuals and organizations throughout our communities in order to offer services at no cost to the individual. We know that community involvement and support is an essential component of recovery and necessary to providing services that address the specific needs of the communities involved.

The early years of Orange County Teen Challenge consisted of various homes, offices, and coffee shops. A handful of men and women were committed to bringing freedom to those caught in addiction and prevent many others from ever having to experience the destructiveness of drugs, alcohol and gang violence.

In 2006, Orange County Teen Challenge acquired a 4,000-square foot building, which was renovated to facilitate the rapidly growing youth programs. The new building facilitates parenting classes for families with at-risk youth and pregnant teens, English as a Second Language classes, and support groups. The house behind it was also purchased and is now used to house graduates in the “Mentoring Program” who are in transition from dependents of Teen Challenge to productive members of society.

Evangelism and outreach to at-risk youth and families has always been at the heart of the ministry in Orange County Teen Challenge.

Mission: We provide youth, adults and families with an effective and comprehensive Christian faith-based solution to life-controlling drug and alcohol problems in order to become productive members of society. By applying biblical principles, Teen Challenge endeavors to help people become mentally-sound, emotionally-balanced, socially-adjusted, physically-well, and spiritually-alive.

Free Wheelchair Mission

About: Free Wheelchair Mission is a humanitarian, faith-based nonprofit that designs and manufactures cost-efficient, durable wheelchairs for developing countries around the world. In collaboration with a network of like-minded partners, Free Wheelchair Mission has distributed more than 1.3 million wheelchairs to people living with disabilities in 94 developing countries around the world, providing renewed dignity, independence, and hope through the gift of mobility, at no cost to the recipient.

Mission: To provide the transforming gift of mobility to people with disabilities living in developing nations as motivated by Jesus Christ.

Blind Children’s Center

About: Founded in 1938, the Blind Children’s Center (BCC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides FREE high-quality early childhood education programs for children ages 18 months to 5 years-old (Head Start, Early Head Start, CA State Preschool). We also offer Early Head Start services for infants and toddlers from birth through 36 months and pregnant mothers. BCC has specific expertise in supporting very young children who are blind and visually impaired and those with multiple disabilities. Our small class sizes, experienced staff and specialists all lend to individualized instruction and support for each child in our program.

As a delegate of Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) our programs are funded in part by the Administration for Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services, and California Department of Education. Additionally, BCC solicits donations from private foundations, businesses, and individual donors to support our programs for children and families.

We are committed to a family-focused approach where parents, siblings, grandparents, and caregivers are included in the educational process every step of the way. In keeping with best practices, our programs are fully inclusive with sighted children integrated in each class, providing unique opportunities for social interaction and acquisition of critical skills. Our multidisciplinary team of experts utilizes leading-edge technology and adaptive devices to help our students who are visually impaired keep pace in the sighted world. As a model program, the Center impacts communities globally through presentations, conferences, and research grants, as well as a full suite of publications for families and professionals. In all, more than 750,000 copies of our publications have been distributed in 75 countries, and translated into 17 languages.

Mission: The Blind Children’s Center prepares infants, toddlers, and preschoolers of all abilities to thrive through inclusive, family-focused early childhood education, with a specialized focus on children who are blind or visually impaired.

OCSC Foundation

About: Orange County Soccer Club (OCSC) is a professional soccer team based in Orange County. OCSC is included in the United Soccer League (USL) which is the fastest-growing Division II professional soccer league in the world. The team plays their home games at the Orange County Great Park’s Championship Soccer Stadium located in Irvine, California. Nestled in the heart of the Great Park, the Championship Soccer Stadium has a capacity of over 5,000 to accommodate all the spectators for the OCSC matches.

The Orange County Soccer Club completed the 2018 season in record-breaking fashion. The side set club records in wins, points, and attendance culminating in a West Conference Regular Season to top seed advancing through to the Western Conference Championship game.

Patterson Auto is proud to partner with the Orange County Soccer Club!

Learn more about how we partner.

Huntington Beach Fight Club

About: Here at HB Fight Club, we specialize in martial arts training with elements of resistance training and conditioning. Our wide variety of classes consists of MMA, boxing, kickboxing, and weight training; catering to adults, seniors, youth, and special needs! A Focus on Your Wellness. We want you to be healthier and happier, so we offer classes for every age and ability. You become a valued member of a friendly club when you join our gym. Community well-being is as important as physical health. We are deeply committed to giving back through our community service and our Rock Steady Boxing partnership.

Mission: HB Fight Club is a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) serving the community and individuals with developmental, neurological, and mental hindrances, giving them tools they need to build confidence, overcome hardship, and embrace the fighter within.

Our coaches at HB Fight Club use their knowledge and expertise to give back to the community. Aside from general fitness and training competitive athletes, we also specialize in using boxing training as a form of therapy for seniors and newly diagnosed individuals with movement disorders, managing mental health and sobriety, as well as youth with special needs.

We are proudly certified with Rocksteady Boxing which is a scientifically proven program created to treat and manage symptoms and signs of Parkinson's disease. Our head coach John Mercurio was a guest speaker at the Michael J Fox Convention and has served on the board of the Parkinson's Association of Orange County!

Orange County Fellowship of Christian Athletes

About: The Fellowship of Christian Athletes is initiated and led by student-athletes on high school, junior high, and college campuses. Our desire is to equip and empower athletes to be a light and a leader to their teams and on their campuses. The coaches are the heartbeat of FCA Ministry. We believe coaches are some of the greatest influencers in our culture today and we see them as our greatest opportunity and call to courage, empower, and equip God’s glory. Our aim is to become like Jesus Christ – the greatest competitor of all time.

Mission: To lead every coach and athlete into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ and His church.

Learn more about how we partner.