Thanks to the efforts of the three Rotary clubs in Danville — Riverview, Danville and After Hours — $11,562.96 was raised this spring to support the Autism Education Fund here at The Foundation. The three clubs worked together to bring Nashville recording artist Landon Parker to headline a concert at The Carrington Pavilion in Danville.
“This concert and donation are more than just fundraising, it’s also about relighting the lighthouse on helping people understand autism,” said Executive Director Daniel C. Hayes.
Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects how an individual perceives, interacts and communicates with the world. While it affects those diagnosed with it differently, there are common traits such as social communication, behavioral patterns, sensory processing and support levels. As of 2023, data shows autism affects an estimated 1 in 36 children across all ethnic and socioeconomic groups.
The Autism Education Fund was created 14 years ago thanks to a fundraising push between the Dan River Autism Awareness 5K and the Community Foundation of the Dan River Region (The 5K race was held for more than five years.). The fund, which annually awards grants to charitable organizations, supports autism education-related programs or organizations benefitting individuals, families, educators and the community. This year, the fund awarded grants to support:
- The Danville Science Center – to expand and strengthen the on-site sensory friendly programming;
- Danville Speech and Hearing Center – to support scholarships for autistic patients; and
- Smokestack Theatre Group – to support Summerstack for autistic children.
In the past, some of the projects supported by the fund include supporting our local school systems for upgraded classrooms; a teacher who created a camera project that included journaling for students on the spectrum; garden projects; and Piedmont Community College received a grant to provide training for teachers.
The Autism Education Fund is open for applications from area non-profit organizations from January 1 through March 1. Applications should be well structured and affect as many students, or groups, as possible. Grants are awarded every year in April.
If you would like to make a gift to support this fund you can do so by going to www.cfdrr.org and clicking the Give Today button, then searching by the fund’s name or the key word autism, or by using this link.