Students Together for Autism Research (S.T.A.R.)

This project raises awareness and funds for autism, an area that is extremely prevalent today yet does not receive enough funding or publicity. Autism affects 1 in 150 individuals in the United States, but most people know little about this psychoneurological disorder. In my hometown in Florida, I founded a chapter of Students Together for Autism Research (S.T.A.R.), the first outside of New Jersey. S.T.A.R. is the national high school organization of AutismSpeaks, the largest autism organization in the US. The goal of our chapter is to change the world of autism in any small way we can, whether it be through bake sales to raise money, movie nights to raise awareness, attending autism awareness fishing days or walks to support the autism community, or creating and running an autism awareness walk in our hometown to provide an event to reach all of our goals and connect to the autism community. We are having an autism awareness 5K walk/run on February 2, 2008. We have already obtained sponsorship for the entire walk, publicity coverage, and support from the local autism community. All proceeds will go to our local Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (CARD), which supports the autism families in the region, over 1300 people.