Grant a Gift Autism Run for Hope

I normally participate in 5k events for various nonprofit organizations. This time around, I decided to gain a new perspective and volunteered to work the event as opposed to running. The event was “Grant a Gift Autism 5k/Run for Hope 2011” held April 30th in Town Square and benefitted the Autism Foundation.

I arrived at Town Square by 6:30 AM. I had no idea what my task would be, but knew that our time was reserved from 6:30 AM until 11:00 AM. By some freak of nature, it was also terribly cold! Luckily, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, a small café across the street from our gathering point, came out and set up a table to serve the volunteers’ free coffee while we worked. Awesome! After all of the volunteers signed in and we received our volunteer t-shirts, we got to work. Some were tasked to place tables and canopies throughout Town Square Park for vendor setups. Others were tasked to sign in race registrants. My task was simple. I filled up balloons with helium, tied them to strings, and decorated the start/finish line, tables and trees. As you can imagine, this didn’t take long. As soon as we were finished, we began helping vendors set up their tables.

Some of the other positions I saw being delegated were aid stations for the race, raffle ticket booth, course markers, and tear down. Now there’s much more that goes into an event like this, but these are the tasks I was easily able to see myself. I also saw kids who were participating in the event setup. Most of them flocked toward the balloons, and it became one of the most sought after positions!

Before I knew it, Town Square was full of race participants. Many wore team shirts in support of children they knew who suffer from Autism. I saw one team that consisted of about 40 people! The sheer excitement on the faces of the children was amazing. These people, total strangers, were here for them. It was their event!

If you’re unaware of Autism, it’s is a neuro-developmental condition, often developed and diagnosed prior to age three, that causes children to suffer in three critical areas: social interaction, language, and behavior. The Autism Foundation’s primary responsibility is “helping children on the Autism Spectrum and their families fight Autism through the diagnostic, support service, and community outreach connection”. According to the Center for Disease Control & Prevention, the number of children diagnosed with Autism is rising and recent statistics indicate that 1 in 110 children are affected. It’s easy to see that high rates of children are diagnosed.

Overall, I had a great time working this event. Since I was not a part of the tear down crew, I was free to go after setup was complete. I opted to wait until the race kicked off, however. This event took a total of two hours from my day. Not bad.

~ Jason

For more information on Grant a Gift Autism Foundation visit their website.