Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

Autism Speaks event raises $25K

One of the biggest fundraisers on the University of Massachusetts campus, the ‘UWere, UAre, USpeak Autism Speaks 3K Walk 5K Race’ was held on Sunday, May 3, in an effort to raise awareness and money for autism.

With 220 participants attending, the event raised close to $25,000. Entertainment ranged from face painting to a live concert. There were auctions and raffles, and every participant received $5 worth of ‘Burrito Bucks’ from Bueno Y Sano. The winning male, Andrew Erwin, and female, Isabella Donadio, of the 5K race each received a $100 Visa gift card.

According to the Autism Speaks website, ‘Autism Speaks is dedicated to increasing awareness of autism spectrum disorders, to funding research into the causes, prevention and treatments for autism and to advocating for the needs of individuals with autism and their families.’

Autism Speaks works with both the National Alliance for Autism Research (NAAR) and Cure Autism Now (CAN), the leading autism awareness organizations.

Autism is a brain development disorder that impairs social interaction. Autism disorders are diagnosed in one in 150 children in the United States, however, they are more common in boys. The diagnosis of autism has increased dramatically in the past years. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have called autism a national public health crisis whose cause and cure remain unknown.

The idea for the event first began at Penn State University with a walk called Autism Speaks, which raised more than $91,000 in the first year and over $550,000 over the past four years. Penn State then began an initiative to spread to other universities such as the University of Connecticut, Maryland University and UMass with a subsequent event called Autism SpeaksU.’

‘Next year, Alpha Epsilon Pi and Sigma Delta Tau want to make the walk/race bigger and better,’ said UMass Autism Speaks chairman, Jason Grass. ‘We are hoping on doubling the participants and total and getting the community more involved.’

Dinah Gorelik can be reached at [email protected].

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