Our Purpose & Goal
The Plan
“Why not establish our own 501 nonprofit organization, host numerous fundraising dinners and events, assemble a team of hockey players to rollerblade two thousand miles, and attempt to raise a record amount of money to provide scholarship opportunities to children with autism?”
This September, a team of fifteen college students has assembled to tackle this task. While wallowing in the “here come the real world blues,” several Union College seniors are deciding to take a path rarely traveled. Immediately after graduation several “newly grads” will be trading in their caps and gowns for rollerblades and knee pads as they embark on a remarkable journey -- skating from Florida to Maine. Stops are planned in major cities such as Savannah, Washington DC, Philadelphia, New York, Hartford, Boston, and many others. Each destination will consist of a dinner and a party at a designated location (see “Route”) representing an opportunity to increase the public’s awareness of RollingForAutism and a chance to raise more money. The stop in each city will provide an opportunity for local families to meet our team as well as get involved in the project.
We ask you to please explore the rest of our website. Hopefully, you will be able to learn all about Autism and the impact we’re trying to make on the lives of those affected by the disorder. Additionally, we’re all young, fun folks hoping you will enjoy reading about and participating in our project. At the end of the day, there is only so much we can do to make this project a success. We are rollerblading 2000 miles, we are working countless hours, and we are putting everything we can into this effort. The rest is in your hands. We need you to help….purchase a tee shirt, give a donation, come to our dinner when we’re in your area, or have a few pops (nonalcoholic of course) and chat with us at the bar. The RollerbladingForAutism team is ever expanding. Your participation and involvement is the largest ingredient to our success!
Our Goal
Each year, Autism research gains a substantial amount of money from private and corporate donations, hospital and research institution budgeting and from the government. A better understanding of Autism results in a better life for those impacted by the disorder. However, not enough funds are available to provide immediate opportunities for those people already living with Autism. Programs catering to children with autism, such as summer camps and special schools are often very costly; therefore, such opportunities are not available to the people they are designed to impact. Our goal is to help make these opportunities affordable to the people they are intended to reach.
As you browse through our website, you will notice that we are raising money in a variety of ways. We are looking for donations, hosting events, encouraging fundraising at other colleges and universities, and selling merchandise. While it is obvious that a substantial amount of time and energy has been poured into this project, what is far more impressive is the amount of heart, passion, and hope saturating the project. Heart dwells in our volunteers, sponsors, and donors in their expenditure of their own time, energy, and resources. Those involved in the project have a passion for RollingforAutism to be a success; this passion is what will allow us to raise more money and provide more opportunities for people impacted by Autism than any previous efforts. And finally, a sense of hope exists in all of us, as we hope our efforts will result in positive life changes for those directly and indirectly affected by Autism.
The bottom line is that we want RollerbladingForAutism to knock everyone’s socks off. We want to impact the lives of more Autistic kids and their families than ever thought possible!
Enjoy the site, leave a note…..and we hope to meet you on the road this summer. |
