Thousands walked, many thousands raised

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Despite the threat of a Hurricane that never came to be, thousands came out to support the Foundation Fighting Blindness and Autism Awareness and at Jones Beach State Park on Saturday and Sunday.

Although the Walk Now for Autism Speaks organization didn’t reach its goal of $1.4 million, the event still raised more than $500,000 for funding research into the causes, prevention, treatments and cure for autism as well as increasing awareness of autism spectrum disorders.

More than 30,000 people came out on Oct. 4 to walk three miles down the Jones Beach boardwalk at 9 a.m. Many wore baby blue to support the cause. The top team, Cindy and David Wittels, raised $25,496 for the nonprofit organization, far surpassing their personal goal.

The Mac varsity cheerleading team from MacArthur High School in Levittown also walked for autism awareness on the cloudy day. The squad united with the junior varsity team and the Salk Middle School team to make more of an impact.

“We have a tremendous ABA program at MacArthur for our students with autism,” said MacArthur cheerleading coach, Lisa Nessler, referring to the Applied Behavioral Analysis program. “One of our biggest fans, Brendan Gallagher, a MacArthur alumni with autism, is always at our games pumping us up for the season.”

The teams sported matching blue sweatshirts and headbands as they walked down the beach in unison. “He never lets us down,” said Nessler about Gallagher. “And we wanted to show him that we would never let him down.”

Other organizations such as the Seaford High School Key Club, led by Advisor Kerri Degnan, have walked in the past to raise money for autism. Due to impending weather, the club couldn’t walk this year but still found the cause to be near to their heart. “Autism awareness has always been something I’ve enjoyed walking for,” Degnan said. “Handing in a check is great but it’s not tangible. By actually handing out T-shirts and water bottles, you get to see the true difference it can make.”

The Walk Now for Autism Speaks also sold merchandise, such as T-shirts and pins and light refreshments to raise more donations for autism awareness.

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