I am SO excited for this opportunity to run the New York City Marathon this year! Even more awesome is that my miles have meaning, because I am once again a member of the OAR Run For Autism team, raising awareness and funds for the Organization for Autism Research.

OAR is my charity of choice for a number of reasons:
* I have a brother and a cousin on the Autism spectrum.
* I have many friends and neighbors who have children with Autism.
* I have been an educator for 19 years, and every year I have had one or more students with an Autism diagnosis (ranging from mild to severe).
* I believe in this organization and what they do for families who are immediately impacted by having a child (or children) with Autism.
* I appreciate that funds are allocated to support people directly, as well as continued research.
* 1 in 31 children in the U.S. is diagnosed with Autism, which makes it incredibly prevalent, touching the lives of many.

Here are some of the ways that OAR uses the funds raised by the RUN FOR AUTISM team:
$10 provides a Curriculum in a Box professional development set to general education teachers.
$25 provides 15 copies of A Guide to Safety to families and first responders.
$100 provides the Kit for Kids peer education resource to an entire elementary or middle school.
$150 provides 100 copies of a Life Journey through Autism guidebook sent to a community support group or military installation.
$1,000 provides a research grant for a graduate student studying autism.
$3,000 provides a scholarship for a student with autism to attend college.
$50,000 fully underwrites an applied research pilot study.