Early-morning joggers at Westside Park will be joined by hundreds of supporters of autism awareness this weekend.
The fifth annual Autism Awareness 5K Walk/Run and a Kids Fun Run, hosted by Eastside High School’s Students Together for Autism Research, starts Saturday morning.
All proceeds from the event benefit UF’s Center for Autism and Related Diseases.
“This is a fundraiser, but it’s also for public awareness, to teach the community more about autism and how it affects the community,” said Cathy Zenko, coordinator for education and training programs at CARD-UF.
The Kids Fun Run begins at 9 a.m., and the 5K follows at 9:15 a.m., said STAR president Emma London.
Registration costs $15. Participants can register online until Friday at uffuflevents.imodules.com/starwalk2012 or on-site at 8 a.m. Saturday. Participants will receive a T-shirt, a prize ticket and free refreshments.
Participants can choose not to register, but they will not receive a T-shirt or a prize ticket.
STAR usually collects about $7,000 for CARD-UF from the 5K, London said. She expects about 300 people to register for this year’s event.
“It’s a really great cause, and we have seen so much support in the past,” London said. “We are really hoping to match those numbers or even exceed them this year, and things are looking up so far.”
CARD-UF provides individual assistance for families affected by autism, technical assistance for agencies and schools, training in areas such as communication and behavior problems and fundraising for public awareness, Zenko said.
CARD-UF had a 20-percent budget cut last year. The center raises its own funds to make up for the loss, but STAR has been a huge help, Zenko said. Recently, money raised by STAR helped pay for equipment that allows the center to broadcast all of its training sessions, so people can participate by logging on from home.
“STAR is a really helpful organization, and this is a really great event,” Zenko said. “I hope to see a lot of the community come out and support us.”
