Family Fun Day for Autism Awareness
Thank you for your support!
On Saturday, April 9th, approximately 200 attendees of all ages and demographics attended the Family Fun Day for Autism Awareness event at Teague Park. Attendees received free snacks, shirts, kites, and completed crafting activities where they painted a t-shirt and colored art. Autism affects nearly 1 out of 44 births. P3A committee members Dr. Alisa Elliot and Eneatra Anderson share a personal experience with developmental disability. Dr. Elliot is a special needs sibling to April who is autistic and Eneatra is a special needs parent of Chandler who is autistic.
This is the 5th time the event has been held in Longview since its inception in 2012. Next year, the committee is planning a bigger celebration to commemorate the 10th year since starting the tradition. Dr. Elliot and Eneatra created the event together. The conversation started with a direct message on Facebook. The connection was instant because of a shared interest in Facebook groups, parenting styles, and a passion for advocating for autism. A couple of days and conversations later, they recruited people from the community to start an organization to support various projects. Positive People with Positive Attitudes has helped with building homes for Habitat for Humanity, completed back to school drives giving out personal hygiene products to students, and executed a beautification project to assist aging adults needing light yard work. Throughout the years the main committee members have remained the same with two favorite members passing away, Kerry Boyd and Camille Christine Prentice.
The committee’s plan is to return to their roots with these good deeds and to use the donations to sponsor Chrysalis Spectrum Foundation’s mission to help young to middle aged adults with disabilities learn administrative assistant job skills to improve self sufficiency through work ethic, interpersonal skills, and financial security outside of the typical service industry.
Special thank you to the committee for putting the event together, to the community and businesses for their support and to the City of Longview. We are thankful to the sponsors Spark (Autism Research), Bridging the Gap, and The Chicken Wang Gang. Thank you vendors, Special Health Resources for Texas, Behavior Innovations, SPARK, and Chrysalis Spectrum. Thank you to the food vendors that provided delicious treats Ol Smokey and The Chicken Wang Gang. We are appreciative to the first responders and how they provided people with special needs a tour of the firetruck and EMS. Special thanks to the City of Longview health, parks & recreational, and environmental department and Mayor Andy Mack for the reading of the proclamation. Thank you Longview News Journal for capturing the moment.
About the company:
Chrysalis Spectrum Foundation To create a career path for young and middle aged adults with a disability to learn office assistant tasks that will increase employment sustainability and inclusion in the workplace.
Positive People with Positive Attitudes is a committee that operates under Chrysalis Spectrum Foundation.
Dr. Alisa Elliot
Founder/Owner
281-407-1662 ext 700
