Michael Lorenzen Foundation

We would like tell you a story about an amazing little boy named Michael. Michael was born in July of 2013 and was always the brightest light in the room, even from birth. His family adored his joyful spirit and his smile touched everyone he met. This beautiful, bright-eyed child was only 4 when he perished in a house fire on January 26th, 2018. Despite our grief, we formed The Michael Lorenzen Foundation to keep his star shining.

When Michael was 2 years old, he was diagnosed with autism. Autism is characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behavior, speech delays, and nonverbal communication. Michael demonstrated all of these behavioral tendencies, but also was a happy little bug who loved Paw Patrol, fire trucks, trains, and Halloween.  In the 2.5 years following his diagnosis, we worked tirelessly to overcome these obstacles. Michael attended four hours a day of specialized ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) therapy and went to the local Pre-School. His dedication to progress from only saying “go!” to having a vocabulary of over 400 words shows how determined he really was. In fact, Michael exceeded expectations and was on course to attend Kindergarten in the Fall. We have no doubt that he would have graduated from high school and even gone on to college.

We established The Michael Lorenzen Foundation to help other children with autism. It is our hope that all children on the autism spectrum have the opportunity to achieve a college education, as we feel Michael would have. We know first hand how much little contributions can add up to big successes. Your donations and support of our events will help us in our mission for valuing education for those who share Michael’s uniqueness.

Thank you so much for your interest in and generosity for The Michael Lorenzen Foundation!