Thousands of people are expected to attend this Sundays Walk Now for Autism Speaks event to raise funds for the organization while providing more information about an oft-misunderstood disorder.
Scheduled for Oct. 27 at Tempe Beach Park, the event is split between a 5k run and a one-mile walk the former begins at 9:15 a.m., the latter at 9:30 a.m. with prizes handed out for the top runners after the athletic portion of the event. The event also includes a slew of activities that start after the run and the walk, like the kids zone, a main stage for entertainment and a vendor village for participants that lasts until approximately 12:30 p.m.
The event features numerous sponsors, including Sprouts, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, Cardon Childrens Medical Center and Phoenix Childrens Hospital. Valley Honda Dealers Helpful Guys in Blue will also be on hand as sponsors of the start and finish lines to provide suntan lotion and support to the participants.
Money raised from the event goes to support Autism Speaks a national organization that provides information about autism and advocates for autism-related causes ranging from treatment of autism to housing for people with the disorder.
Chandler mom Renata Irving has participated in the Autism Speaks walk with her 24-year-old son Sam since it began almost a decade ago, and she has watched the participation increase from less than a thousand to somewhere in the neighborhood of 15,00 last year.
Its kind of bittersweet because there are so many people, but there are so many people, she said.
Even though its a national event, Pieceful Solutions owner/director Kami Cothrun said the Arizona walk also has local ties with the Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center, or SARRC a Phoenix-based center that provides exactly what its name implies for people with autism and their families. Some of the funding, she said, will remain in the community, which is important given the increasing necessity for financial assistance.
We need money for research, we need money for support because the numbers are exponentially growing, and theyre growing faster than we can help them, she said.
Walk Now for Autism Speaks is the organizations largest fundraising event across the country, and the local version has raised more than $337,000 as of Oct. 24. But the run/walk isnt just about raising funds; rather, participants like Cothrun said it doubles as a resource to let the public know more about autism.
Its kind of a tricky disorder because the symptoms of the people diagnosed with it 1 in 88 children and 1 in 54 boys per nationally, and 1 in 64 children and 1 in 40 boys in Arizona, per the Centers for Disease Control fall upon a spectrum. Those on the upper level of the spectrum have a more difficult time caring for themselves and often live with their families throughout adulthood, but according to the Autism Speaks website, approximately 40 percent have average to above average intelligence and even excel in areas like music and academics.
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Walk Now for Autism Speaks set for Sunday at Tempe Beach Park