SOUTH FLORIDA AUTISM CHARTER SCHOOL PARTNERS WITH HIALEAH FOR AUTISM WALK & SAFETY FAIR

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HIALEAH, Fla., April 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The South Florida Autism Charter School, (SFACS) is excited to announce they will be holding their annual Autism Walk to benefit Friends of South Florida Autism, in conjunction with a Safety Fair, in partnership with the City of Hialeah on April 9^th from 10AM until 1PM.

Every April, SFACS parents, students and relatives gather together to walk for Autism during Autism Awareness Month. Last year's walk was a "drive-by style" due to the COVID pandemic. SFACS is now hosting the Walk at the new campus in the Hialeah Annex.

Dr. Tamara Moodie, Principal and one of the founders of SFACS says they expect this walk to be the best walk they have ever had, "I believe we are going to see well over 300 people walk with us this year," Dr. Moodie says, "We have close to 300 students alone at our campus and now that we are partnering with the city, we're asking all parents, families and anyone that has a child or adult with Autism to join us for this cause."

The partnership with Hialeah is allowing the school to close off several city streets surrounding the school. That will allow for Hialeah Police, the Miami-Dade School Police Autism Car and a parent from the school who has an Autism Motorcycle, to lead the walk from the school, around the industrial block, over 97^th avenue and back to the school on the day of the event. "This is the first time we've ever done anything like this before and I am sure it is going to open the door for the community to see how important Autism awareness really is, especially with 1 in 44 children being diagnosed every year, according to the CDC;" says Dr. Moodie, "We want the community to know our School and our Center are here for them. We exist to help our community and that's exactly what we want to do."

In addition to the Walk, the Safety Fair is also showcasing Police, Fire, Ambulance and Medical safety during the event. Parents and children will have the opportunity to tour the City's fire trucks, the ambulances, the police cars & will even will have the chance to write on one of the fire trucks at the campus. There will also be numerous vendors on hand with information for the public on safety, awareness, special needs registries (programs that allow the police department to know about families with special needs so they can be of more assistance during a call) and sensory friendly toys and programs. This will include tables from the City of Hialeah's Health Department, the Miami Lakes Special Needs Advisory Board, UM Card's Autism and Special Needs resource program & Nova Southeastern University's School of Dentistry.

Mayor Esteban "Steve" Bovo of Hialeah will also be on hand to take part in the Walk, to answer questions about the future of Autism programs in the community, and to talk about the future "South Florida Autism Center", which will be built adjacent to the SFACS campus. The Center will feature a swimming pool, a gym, Speech, Occupational and Physical Therapies as well as a daycare center and respite programs.

After the walk, Mayor Bovo will also tip the basketball for the SFACS Sunrays Basketball team, a group comprised of players who are all on the Autism Spectrum. In addition to the game, the SFACS Sunrays Dance Team will be performing a dance routine and the Miami Heat Dancers will also be on hand for the game.

SFACS is also providing games, bounce houses, food and drink at the event for purchase, however entrance into the event is free.

In addition to the Walk and Safety Fair, the school is also collecting gently used shoes in its "Shoes for Autism" shoe drive, benefitting families in need in countries across the world.

All proceeds raised at this year's event will be going to the Friends of South Florida Autism, which provides support to the South Florida Autism Charter School, The South Florida Autism Center and the future Villages of South Florida Autism. For more details on the event, you can contact the school at 305-823-2700 or email [email protected].

Find us on social media:
Instagram: @sfacs_autism
Facebook: Facebook.com/southfloridaautismcharterschoolsinc

SOURCE South Florida Autism Charter School