Rising Tide Car Wash Social Enterprise in Parkland Wins SOCAP13 Social Entrepreneur Scholarship to Attend World-Renowned SOCAP13 Conference in September

PARKLAND, Fla., Aug. 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Entrepreneur John D'Eri, president and co-founder of Rising Tide Car Wash, a groundbreaking social enterprise in Parkland, Fla., is pleased to announce that the organization has been awarded the SOCAP13 (Social Capital Markets Conference) scholarship. With the scholarship, D'Eri and his son Thomas D'Eri, Rising Tide COO and co-founder, will attend the SOCAP13 Sept. 1-2 Impact Accelerator Weekend/Sept. 3-6 conference in San Francisco, Calif. The annual SOCAP conference is the world's most successful social enterprise and impact investing event.

Rising Tide, which has a powerful mission to employ adults with autism and inspire communities to redefine their perception of the capabilities that people with autism have, was one of 100 scholarship winners out of 400 applicants worldwide.

"By winning the scholarship, we are being recognized as a leading social enterprise by one of the most established and well-respected social enterprise organizations in the world," said John D'Eri. "At the conference, we'll have the opportunity to make connections with potential investors and collaborators to strengthen our organization and increase our impact."

Rising Tide is actively seeking partners to scale their model for local and regional expansion beginning in 2014.

Rising Tide is the brainchild of the D'Eri father and son team, who wanted to create a supportive environment where John's son and Thomas' brother, 21-year-old Andrew D'Eri, a vibrant, lighthearted individual with autism, could thrive and achieve independence. Currently, unemployment among people with autism is approximately 90 percent, and at least 500,000 more individuals with autism will enter the workforce in the next decade.

The high-quality car wash not only aims to be the premier car wash experience on the market, but with 30+ employees, it is one of the largest employers of people with autism in the U.S. It is the largest single store retail employer of individuals with autism in the U.S., and is among the first consumer brands in the nation focused on empowering young adults with autism.

It is a proven fact that people with autism, when instructed correctly, are exceptional at maintaining consistency with tasks requiring repetition and structure. Using this quality of autism to their advantage, Rising Tide and its consultants created an innovative model that breaks the car washing process into 46 distinct steps. Employees work in a mirror image of each other, and are able to thrive off the repetitive structure to produce amazing results.

Over a period of a year prior to opening Rising Tide, the D'Eris worked with Sonny's Enterprises, Inc., the largest manufacturer of conveyorized car wash systems in the world, to perfect Rising Tide's processes (which are endorsed by Sonny's CarWash College). University of Miami – Nova Southeastern University CARD (Center for Autism and Related Disabilities) partnered with Rising Tide to execute its pilot program, completed during summer 2012.

For more information about franchising opportunities with Rising Tide, visit www.risingtidecarwash.com/work.

About Rising Tide Car Wash

Rising Tide Car Wash is a scalable social enterprise with the primary mission to employ adults with autism. By delivering a first-rate car wash experience to the consumer, Rising Tide strives to inspire communities to change their perception of the capabilities of people with autism. Through intensive training, team building and caring for the community, Rising Tide sets its employees up for success. With this model, Rising Tide has a goal to provide people with autism with an opportunity to build a career and achieve an independent lifestyle. Rising Tide aims to be Broward County's first B Corporation (the gold standard in verifying that a company is truly a social enterprise) and the fourth in the state of Florida. Rising Tide Car Wash is located at 7201 N. State Rd 7, Parkland, FL 33067. It is open seven days a week from 8 a.m.–7 p.m. For more information, visit www.risingtidecarwash.com, call (954) 344-1855 or email [email protected].

About SOCAP13

SOCAP is a world-renowned conference series dedicated to increasing the flow of capital toward social good. SOCAP connects leading global innovators, investors, foundations, institutions, and social entrepreneurs to build this market at the intersection of money and meaning. SOCAP is the world's most successful social enterprise and impact investing event, and has convened more than 5,000 people since it began in 2008. SOCAP operates out of HUB Bay Area, a co-working space and changemaker community based in the San Francisco Bay Area. SOCAP13 will be held from September 3 through 6 at the historic Fort Mason Center in San Francisco, and is anticipated to welcome more than 1800 participants under the banner of Accelerating the Good Economy. For more information, visit http://socap13.socialcapitalmarkets.net/.

Media Contacts:

Duree Ross, Duree & Company, Inc. 
954-723-9350 / Email

Jennifer Martinez, Duree & Company, Inc. 
561-301-4998 / Email

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SOURCE Rising Tide Car Wash