If you have an autistic family member, or if you've needed help getting dress clothes for your kids, or if you're a law enforcement officer or first responder Downriver, then chances are you know Lisa Vilella.

But you may not know her by that name.

“No one calls me Lisa anymore,” she said.

Many people know her simply as “Mimi” of Mimi's Mission, which is “a local nonprofit organization that helps Downriver families who have autistic children or adults,” according to her website, mimismission.org.

Vilella is “on a mission,” as she puts it, to bring about autism awareness but she says “anybody can bring awareness, or say they are aware. How can we connect people to resources? Where is the action?”

She has been very active since starting the nonprofit in 2015. Since then, she's been active to the tune of more than 4,000 unpaid volunteer hours, enough to earn the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award for Volunteer Service. She received this special honor at a gala presented by Bridging the Gaps Community & Family Development Centers, held in Wyandotte on April 14th of this year.

At first, she didn't want to go.

“That puts a light on me and I don't do that,” Vilella said. “I put a light on Mimi's Mission.”

But then someone explained to her how special the award is.

“They said only something like 1 percent of the population is eligible to receive it,” she said.

She agreed to accept the award on one condition: She would not have to make a speech.

As the ceremony commenced, however, she noticed each award recipient was invited to address the crowd. She hadn't prepared to talk to a room full of other honorees. When it was her turn, she calmly walked to the stage and spoke off the cuff and from the heart.

“My grandkids couldn't believe I had just made up the whole thing on the fly,” she said of her acceptance speech. “I told them, 'When you love what you do and you get a chance to talk about it, it's easy.'”

Vilella doesn't get much down time running the nonprofit. Currently she's reworking the Autism Acceptance and Downriver Young Adults groups; she recently initiated Autism Optimism, a workshop for families who have children newly diagnosed with autism; and she's partnered with Brownstown Township Deputy Police Chief Andrew Starzec to train police officers and first responders how children and adults with autism process things and how best to help them in an emergency.

She does occasionally take opportunities to recharge, though.

“I have three children, four grandchildren and my husband has a very high-pressure job,” Vilella said. “For us, down time is self-care.”

When asked what her plans for (what was then) the upcoming Memorial holiday weekend were, she exclaimed, “Not a darn thing!”

Upcoming events hosted by Mimi's Mission include a cereal drive throughout June, a Golf for Autism Scramble on July 21, an Autism Optimism workshop on July 28, and a Hero Walk for Autism on September 8. For more information on resources for you and your family, or to learn more about opportunities to join “Mimi” on her mission, please visit mimismission.org.