The month of April has been designated as National Autism Awareness Month - the first National Autism Awareness Month was declared by the Autism Society in April 1970. The aim of this month is educate the public about autism, a complex mental condition and developmental disability, characterized by difficulties in the way a person communicates and interacts with other people.
With the CDC declaring that 1 in 68 children may be impacted by ASD [Autism Spectrum Disorder], it’s safe to assume that each of us knows someone with autism. Lots of people are talking about challenges to be overcome – but GDM We Rise seeks to emphasize accomplishments to be achieved while raising awareness of ASD within our community.
Many ASD focused organizations raise money for research and therapy - which is necessary and wonderful. But that alone does not address the importance of providing community wide opportunities for ASD individuals. Because of this, GDM We Rise has chosen to give back to a local nonprofit whose mission and goals focus on both awareness and inclusion of ASD individuals. Include Autism is a nonprofit organization located in San Diego whose Mission is to provide a multifaceted approach to community-wide autism inclusion, offering progressive integrated programs and applied learning experiences for individuals of all abilities. GDM We Rise has organized two days of events to raise money for Include Autism while promoting awareness.
Saturday, April 2nd: World Autism Awareness Day
Join us at Hard Rock's rooftop destination for SUNBURN pool party, where 100% of door proceeds will go to Include Autism. There will also be drink specials. We encourage you to wear blue in recognition of Light It Up Blue - an initiative intended to raise international awareness of autism in support of both World Autism Awareness Day and Autism Awareness Month.
Sunday, April 3rd: Autism Awareness Pub Crawl
GDM is excited to team up with TK Productions & DJhere for the first Autism Awareness Crawl & after party! We will make our way through the Gaslamp, enjoying brews & bites from some of our favorite venues of Downtown San Diego. The 1st stop will be Taste & Thirst at 12pm; next is Florent at 1pm; the 3rd stop will be Henry's Pub at 2pm; stop four is Parq at 3pm and the final destination is Blush Ice Bar + East-West Kitchen - stay for Autism Awareness Celebration at 3:30pm--where there will be a raffle, games and more! A portion of the Celebration proceeds will go to Include Autism!
SIGN UP HERE! Your $20 registration gets you an Autism Awareness Crawl t-shirt, an Autism Speaks wristband & one free welcome shot at each venue we visit! All $20 of your registration goes directly to our preferred non-profit, Include Autism. If you are not able to attend the pub crawl, please consider making a donation, which can be done through the registration page.
GDM - We Rise By Lifting Others