Taylor-Fletcher Investment Group, LLC

The Raymond C. Fletcher Memorial Scholarship fund is in loving memory
of a young Autistic African American boy named Raymond Fletcher. Here is
his story...Ray's Memorial web site is http://raymond-fletcher.memory-of.com/About.aspx.

The birth of Raymond C Fletcher was the third child to be born in his
family.  Unlike the previous two children, Ray was born during a power
outage, late at night, with no one to assist in the delivery and
birthing of Raymond Fletcher.  Early at the onset, Ray's mom had Ray
tested for hearing and speech delays, recommended by their pediatrician
because Ray's big brother had speech and cognitive problems, making the
likelihood that Ray might have similar problems.  As the doctors
continue to test and administer EKG and CAT scans, they discovered that
Ray's condition was much worse. Ray's diagnoses was labeled
"Autistic-like Behavior".  From that moment on, life changed for Ray's
family.  The hopes of knowing that Ray would not enjoy the type of life
that his brother and sister would enjoy begin to fade away. It was
heartbreaking to know that Ray would not learn at the rate of a normal
child, teen or an adult; left Ray's parents with a lot of
uncertainties.
Throughout Ray's life he was always known for his strong embrace no
matter who you were, his beautiful smile, and even his reached back
high five.  Ray was so good at swimming and basketball, that his paperwork
for the Special Olympics was well underway.  Ray could swim like a fish
and could dribble two balls at the same time at different intervals.
He was truly a gifted child clothed in an Autistic mind.

Ray was very athletic began running away from home or school at an
early age.  He was always adventurous and wanted to see what was beyond his
doors.  On many occasions, the local police would go on a search and
rescue for Ray, one time it lasted well over 27 hours.   But one night,
October 19, 2003, Ray's life was lost due to a mysterious accident, a
Hit-and-run, causing his death at the age of 16 years old.  The family
of Ray Fletcher, still search hoping to one day find out the
truth...the
whole truth...


The Scholarship

The Raymond C. Fletcher Memorial Scholarship Fund works collaboratively
to improve the quality of life by supporting the children who may be
limited by physical or mental disorders. This scholarship hopes to
provide assistive technology, environmental modifications in a child's
home, speech or occupational therapy, or provide resources to parents.
This will strengthen the involvement of parents who care for children
with special needs while providing awareness to the community.


Mission and Goals

The mission of the Raymond C. Fletcher Memorial Scholarship Fund will
be to accomplish these goals:

1. To provide assistive technology to young children with disabling
limitations so they are able to engage more in their own education.

2. To support the parents by providing a resource to secure
occupational or speech therapy for the child that will enhance their ability and
improve their performance in education.

3. To bring community awareness within the community. Showing the
advantages of living with individuals with disabling attributes. Having
an open dialog within the community, and to encourage both statewide
and local leadership to dedicate their time to improving and advocating for
special needs in the Fairfax County educational system.

Beliefs and Principles

The Raymond C. Fletcher Memorial Scholarship Fund is guided in its
commitments and strategies by the following beliefs:

* To increase knowledge and awareness of children with special needs by
encouraging families, schools and communities to become investment
partners in the development of children with disabling limitations.

* Children need safe, caring and nurturing environments, at home, in
the community and at school, and should be protected from themselves and
others when their behaviors are difficult to manage.

* The best practices in education and child development result from
encouraging and listening to all voices of the community and sharing
information as widely as possible.

* Children especially Special Needs children, are must be engaged
through a rich variety of educational choices beyond their standard
program.

* Communities are most effective when leaders are working to develop
programs, establishing community related goals, to advocate for policy
changes, and to evaluate the effectiveness of current programs,
exchanging information that will help change public policy and
educational practices in Virginia.

* Every community that educates these children will need a learning
environment, excepting challenges as opportunities.

Qualifying Criteria

The qualifying criteria is created to give those who are limited or
impaired the opportunity to enhance their abilities through the
resources that are provided:

* The applicant must be Autistic or have some form of mental challenge
with a disabling attribute which prevents him/her from perfuming at
his/her best.

* The applicant must be 17 years or younger.

* The applicant must reside with family or guardian.

The Scholarship amount for the selected recipient is $500.00. There is
only one recipient per calendar year.