Tiffany Jones uses her nonprofit Community Uplift Project to do a lot of good in the local area.

In addition to helping parents connect with resources for children who may be on the autism spectrum, the 501(c)3 has food giveaways and has even offered assistance to those struggling to pay bills.

But the bill assistance has been put on hold – for the time being, anyway – because Jones is focusing her attention on a fundraiser to make some upgrades to her office space at 105 S. Garnett St.

She needs to raise $10,000 to pay for contractors and materials to bring the space into code compliance. “We’re shooting for the stars… to upgrade our space…and continue to operate,” Jones said on Thursday’s TownTalk.

One of her passions is being an advocate for children who may have autism spectrum disorder.

“Autism is real, autism is present,” she said, but she wants parents, grandparents and others who care for children to know that there are resources that can help.

Children on the spectrum may be nonverbal or have other challenges when it comes to expressing themselves. Aversions to certain noises, smells or other stimuli they may encounter can trigger strong reactions that may be mistaken for bad behavior, but Jones said autism represents something bigger than just a behavior issue.

“I wanted to make sure I was able to help them,” she said, adding that when she detects stress and worry from parents of children on the spectrum, it just made her want to help them as well as the children.

She suggests that parents observe how their children interact with other children; autistic children often prefer to play in isolation. Watch for particular triggers: it could be something as simple as not wanting to share or not having a particular familiar toy, she said.

Challenges or obstacles that many children can resolve or think through themselves pose problems for children on the autism spectrum.

Autistic children won’t be able to resolve those issues on their own, Jones said. “They have to learn how, by teachers or parents,” she said.

Jones hopes one day to be able to house a training center at Community Uplift Project that helps adults learn more about autism and how to successfully support children on the spectrum.

But that won’t become a reality until she’s got the building issues taken care of. Jones will be at Saturday’s Way to Grow! festival in downtown Henderson to promote what C.U.P. is all about.

There are several different ways to make a donation, including Cashapp, credit or debit card and donating online at www.cuprojectnc.org.

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