Our guest this week is Tony Brescia of West Dundee, IL who owns a Hallmark store, is the father of two including a son with Tuberous Sclerosis, and more recently is raising funds to create Project ALEX Communities, a unique residential community for adults with intellectual disabilities.

Tony and his wife, Joelle, have been married for 34 years and are the proud parents of two boys: Jason (28) and Alex (32) who was born with Tuberous Sclerosis, a rare genetic disease that causes non-cancerous (benign) tumors to grow in the brain and several areas of the body, including the spinal cord, nerves, eyes, lung, heart, kidneys, and skin.

Tony owns the Joelle's Hallmark Shop in Clarendon Hills. Joelle and Tony also have a vision for building Project ALEX Communities. ALEX stands for Adult, Living EXperience and the mission is "establishing a safe (residential) living environment and create a community atmosphere for adults with intellectual / developmental disabilities and individuals without disabilities."

We also learn about the role the Tubular Sclerosis Association, Canine Companions for Independence of Greater Chicagoland and Ten Pin Bowlers Special Olympics Bowling have played in Alex's life.

Tony also talks passionately about the role the SFN Mastermind Group has played in his life and being among a small group of like-minded special needs dads who meet on a weekly basis for fellowship and camaraderie.

It's a touching and uplifting story about faith and family all on this episode of the SFN Dad to Dad Podcast.

Show Links:
Email – tbrescia@earthlink.net
Website - https://projalex.org/
Website – http://www.joelleshallmark.com/
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/tony-brescia-3302875/
Tubular Sclerosis Association - https://tuberous-sclerosis.org/
Canine Companions for Independence - https://canine.org/
SFN Dads Mastermind Group - https://21stcenturydads.org/sfn-mastermind-group/

Special Fathers Network -
SFN is a dad to dad mentoring program for fathers raising children with special needs. Many of the 500+ SFN Mentor Fathers, who are raising kids with special needs, have said: "I wish there was something like this when we first received our child's diagnosis. I felt so isolated. There was no one within my family, at work, at church or within my friend group who understood or could relate to what I was going through."

SFN Mentor Fathers share their experiences with younger dads closer to the beginning of their journey raising a child with the same or similar special needs. The SFN Mentor Fathers do NOT offer legal or medical advice, that is what lawyers and doctors do. They simply share their experiences and how they have made the most of challenging situations.

Check out the 21CD YouTube Channel with dozens of videos on topics relevant to dads raising children with special needs - https://www.youtube.com/channe... Please support the SFN. Click here to donate: https://21stcenturydads.org/do...

Find out about Horizon Therapeutics – Science and Compassion Working Together To Transform Lives. https://www.horizontherapeutics.com/

Special Fathers Network: https://21stcenturydads.org/

Discover more about the Dads Honor Ride 2023 - https://21stcenturydads.org/2023-dads-honor-ride/