Hey Everyone!

As many of you know, I will be graduating with my Masters of Social Work from Appalachian State this semester. This past year, I have had the privilege of working with the Scholars with Diverse Abilities Program (SDAP) at ASU. SDAP works to help young adults with intellectual disabilities like autism to be able to create and achieve goals that will help them become more independent.

Working with these students in SDAP has really inspired me to do more and reach out to my community to try and make a larger impact. So on April 29th, I will be running a 5k at the Boone Greenway with my loyal companion, Jack! The purpose of this 5k is to raise awareness for Autism (April is Autism Acceptance Month) as well as raise funds that will go directly towards research for autism through the OAR foundation.

All proceeds from this Active for Autism Virtual 5K will go to OAR’s new Changing Lives Fund and will be used solely for direct research and programs support. In November of this year, OAR will allocate the available funds to support one of OAR’s new research studies. OAR's goal is to raise $80,000, enough to fully fund two research studies.  Any funds raised over $80,000 will go to support OAR’s mission to apply research to the challenges of autism.  

I also encourage you to donate to the SDAP program at Appalachian State University, which is doing great work empowering students to embrace their intellectual disability, learn practical skills, and achieve greater independence. If you wish to donate, you can visit SDAP's webpage at the link below.

Thanks for all of your support! My personal goal is $300 for OAR. Share this page with your friends and family and let's see what difference we can make!

Sincerely,
Leah and Jack