Energy was high Saturday afternoon when Zain Rhodes, a 10-year-old with autism, attended an event at Ohio University’s Ping Center to raise awareness about the disease.
Rhodes played basketball, met Rufus the Bobcat and generally viewed the event — called Making Moves for Autism — as a “party,” as Krisa Rhodes, Zain’s mother, described his take on the fundraiser.
Though cornhole, piñatas, basketball and face painting helped draw people in, the event had a more serious reason behind it — raising money to help children who suffer from autism. OU students in the Communication Studies 4050 class put on the event and encouraged attendees to donate to a center Krisa hopes to start in her hometown to help children with autism.
“With the money raised, not only will I be able to help Zain, but I can also pay it forward to my community … by helping other children and families affected by autism,” said Krisa, a resident of Somerset, Ohio.
Including those who helped to run the event, about 50 people attended.
The class is separated into six groups with a total fundraising goal of $3,000, which the group is about halfway toward meeting, said Chelsea Fagan, a senior studying health and organizational communication studies.
Autism is identified in one out of every 88 children and is five times more common in boys than girls, according to the federal government’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Fagan said the class’ goal for the Rhodes family was $300, $180 of which had been raised online before the event.
“So far our … fundraising event has been going well and — above all — we are really trying to raise awareness while helping Krisa and her family,” Fagan said.
To treat her child with autism, Krisa has been taught specific techniques and teaching skills through the Autism Treatment Center of America’s Son-Rise Program. She hopes to extend the program into Somerset with funding partially coming from OU students’ fundraising efforts.
Krisa said she and her family could not be more thankful for the students and staff at OU.
“As an (alumna), I am always impressed with Ohio University,” Krisa said. “OU always seems to give back and I was welcomed in with open arms.”
zp449812@ohiou.edu
@zaneparsons
This article appeared in print under the headline "COMS students organize fundraiser for autism"
