Bill Wright is counting down the days to his birthday. But he's not concerned about making sure he gets everything on his wish list, or that he'll be cutting into his favorite kind of cake; instead, he's hoping to bring a fundraiser that's close to his heart to the finish line. Wright is using social media to solicit donations for Love Ran Red, a charity he founded with his wife, Cathy, to offer support to families with adult children who have autism or developmental disabilities. It's easy to understand why the Wrights are champions of this particular cause: their son, Alton, was diagnosed with autism when he was about four years old.
Wright recalls that he wasn't completely surprised when the doctor delivered the news. There had been some early indicators, he says: “[Alton's] verbal communication wasn't there. And he liked to play with cars, but they had to be perfect. He'd line them all up, and if one was out of line, he'd get very upset.” Beyond tackling the challenges of raising a young child who's autistic, Wright says he often found himself thinking about Alton's later years, and about other families in similar situations. “The concern is, what happens when mom and dad can no longer take care of their son or daughter anymore? When these kids grow up to be adults, their autism doesn't go away.”
It was somewhere around the year 2016 when Wright and his wife decided to turn their determination to flip the script for their son and others like him into action. At the time, Wright was (and still is) head of advertising for the Lehigh Valley's Vinart car dealerships; his brother, Art Wright, is the owner. “We would give a lot of money to different charities, not knowing if the money was staying here, helping local families,” he says. With Art's blessing, Wright and his wife established their own nonprofit foundation and christened it “Love Ran Red.” The name comes from a Christian song and is a tribute, Wright says, to his family's unwavering faith in Jesus Christ. “There's a reason God entrusted us with a son who has a developmental disability,” he says.
The Wrights decided the nonprofit's primary focus would be housing. Bill Wright points out that those with autism and other developmental disabilities don't always have a lot of options when living at home with family members is no longer possible. The ultimate goal is to establish a community in which residents are cared for in a group-like setting while maintaining as much of their own independence as possible. “We're about three years into a five-year plan,” Wright says.
In the meantime, Love Ran Red is taking its mission to the bowling alley. The foundation hosts a free bowling league at Allentown's Parkway Lanes that's as much about providing a welcoming space for those with autism and developmental disabilities as it is about offering a meet and greet opportunity for their families. “It's really good for moms and dads to get out and meet other moms and dads going through similar circumstances,” Wright says. “Autism affects everyone differently. They say if you've met one person with autism, you've met one person.”
The wheels also are already turning on a different program that aims to eradicate another problem plaguing those in the autistic community: unemployment. Wright says about 80 to 90 percent are jobless, but often not by choice. “They want to be able to work,” he says. “They want to be able to go to the movies, to go get ice cream and pay for it themselves.” And now, thanks to Duke's Delites, they can.
Duke's Delites was adapted from an initiative in Delaware called Waggies by Maggie and Friends, which was founded in 2007 and sells all-natural dog treats. While pleasing the palates of pups both big and small is certainly important, it's secondary to the organization's true mission: providing an employment opportunity for those with intellectual disabilities. When Wright came across a form of the program in the Lehigh Valley, he says it was struggling, with minimal staffing and only a handful of buyers keeping it afloat.
But he quickly became a loyal customer after discovering how useful the treats could be when trying to get the word out about Love Ran Red at informational events. “I couldn't get people to come to our table,” he says. “But as soon as I put the treats out, people came over.”
Wright officially took over the program in 2018 and renamed it Duke's Delites to give it a fresh start and an identity of its own. “Duke” just so happens to be Art Wright's nickname; it's also a popular name for dogs that caught Bill Wright's eye as he was scouring the internet, looking for inspiration. But even with a different name, the core principle remains the same: The only people on the payroll are those with autism and developmental disabilities. “This gives them a sense of purpose,” says Wright, “a chance to make money, if they choose. It's not a lot of money. It's just the fact that it's a paying job.”
When Wright got on board, there were about four employees; by March of this year, that number had grown to seven, and the ultimate goal is to grow the staff to 15. The customer roster has grown to more than two dozen sites in the Lehigh Valley, and the list of job responsibilities is lengthening as well. Initially, Duke's Delites sorted and repackaged treats made by Waggies by Maggie and Friends to sell under its own label—they come in three flavors: peanut butter, chicken and sweet potato. But earlier this year, the group got the go-ahead to begin baking its own treats at its home base inside the basement at Bethany Church of Wescosville in Lower Macungie Township.
Check out dukesdelites.org and one of the first things you'll see is a group picture of the young men and women who proudly report for duty every Monday and Wednesday afternoon, when the assembly line is in full swing. All of them are clad in bright yellow T-shirts with the company's logo, and all of them are smiling. In the back row is the Wrights' son, Alton, who is a member of the team—albeit a reluctant member at times. Like a lot of young adults, Alton, who turns 21 this year, can fall under the spell of the latest and greatest electronic gadgets, and may need a gentle reminder when it's time to go to work. But all of that is forgotten once he's in the zone, says Wright. “He likes being around his friends. He likes being around people who are like him.”
Wright says Alton's involvement with Duke's Delites has helped him work on his communication skills. It's these and other victories that are important in the Wright household. “Most parents, their sons or daughters are going to college. They're young adults. We'll never experience that. Alton will never live on his own.” But Bill Wright is far from bitter. “These are the cards that God has dealt us,” he says, “and we're happy to play them.” And although he considers advocacy his calling, at the end of the day, Wright is a parent first. “I'm like any other dad who just wants their son or daughter to be happy.”
