Autism Awareness Event at Lululemon, Fairview Shopping Center
Litsa and I hosted our very first Autism Awareness Event at Lululemon, a retail store in Fairview Shopping Center. Joining us was Franca from WIAIH, and Denise from the Pat Roberts Center talking about their helpful resource centers to parents and what they offer.
We greeted, pinned autism ribbons, handed out pamphlets, talked about autism to over 200 people today. This is an estimate according to the amount of pamphlets and handouts we began with and the tally remaining at the end of the day.
Above, you can clearly see our jam-packed table with information we handed out to one and all who visited us. Posters and brochures were generously supplied by Autism Canada and we are very grateful for their continued support. The 'Reaching for Truth' posters were a great eye-catching opener for us to approach people walking by and strike a conversation with them.
To the left, our upcoming book mention, our pamphlets, business cards, and WIAIHs handouts were displayed.
Litsa to the right looks so comfortable. Me? I have to say as articulate as I am writing and communicating over the net, a face-to-face discussion is one of my fears. However, after having met Litsa and her dynamic personality, I have to admit that as the day wore on, I felt more at ease talking with people, my face didn't turn beet red, and now looking forward to more events in the near future.
If you carefully look at the right picture you'll notice that I reached the point of comfort and talking with visitors. To the far right, that's Franca from WIAIH. She was superb and a great help. You can't clearly see them on Litsa and Franca, but you'll notice the autism ribbon on my shirt that we all donned with pride.
Our first Autism Awareness event was a huge success. To have people approaching us and asking us what were the ribbons they spotted many wearing around the shopping center was an immediate BINGO call to us. We succeeded in our quest - get people talking about autism. We couldn't have felt more proud.
At the end of the day, although our feet tingled from exhaustion, Litsa and I had to sit and mull over the day's events. To say we were overjoyed is an understatement. Many recognized us from the newspaper articles written about our upcoming book and mission. Parents congratulated us, and thanked us for taking on such a huge endeavor on their behalf. Franca and Denise met with some of the parents they have helped through their resource centers.
Litsa and I are now looking forward to many more Autism Awareness events. Our next big event is coming up on the 8th of November: the 3rd Annual Autism Gala. We are guest speakers along with Senator Jim Munson and many more. The event is a fundraiser for the Montreal Children's Hospital to raise money for research into the causes of autism. We'll report on that day's event, as well.
We want to thank everyone who took the time to visit us today. We'd also like to thank Lululemon for their continued support and hosting the Autism Awareness Month at their retail store for the entire month of November.
