WELCOME TO

WALK/RUN CENTRAL!

COMMUNITY WALK FOR AUTISM AWARENESS

A DECADE OF DEDICATION

SUNDAY, APRIL 25, 2010

Quinsigamond State Park on Lake Avenue, Worcester

Run registration opens at 9:00am, Run at 10:00am

Walk opens at 12:00pm, walk 1:00-3:00pm

Family Celebration 3:00-5:00pm

NEW THIS YEAR: REGISTRATION-FREE WALK!

No need to pre-register or worry that you got all the information in to us before the Big Day - Tshirts and the barbecue are open to all participants when you arrive, first come-first served while supplies last (but don't worry, there will be plenty for everyone attending). 

GET STARTED - CREATE YOUR ONLINE FUNDRAISING PAGE NOW

OFFLINE FORMS

CLICK HERE FOR RUN REGISTRATION

CLICK HERE FOR SPONSORSHIP FORM

CLICK HERE FOR WALKWAYS - PRINTABLE DOCUMENT WITH WALK INFO, TIPS & TRICKS, AND A SPECIAL MESSAGE FOR NEW PARTICIPANTS

On this page: click to read each special message!

For the past 9 years, our families have set the standard for dedication. Over 2,000 families have walked through our doors since we began supporting families of children with autism in 1997.  At our first walk in 2000, we had less than 10 participants that day and raised about $16,000.  At our walk in 2009, we welcomed over 1,000 walkers and raised $140,000.  In 9 years, we have raised over half a million dollars for our Center!

This event has become much more than a fundraiser to our families; it is a day of celebration like no other, when we come together to celebrate our Center and each other.

All the materials you will need to participate in our biggest and most inspiring annual event are available now, so let's get started!

 

Join the thousands who will help us reach our goal of $150,000!

Once again this year we will be creating fundraising pages & teams on Firstgiving at our very own website: www.firstgiving.com/arccm.  You're going to find some great new features on the site which will make it easier than ever to meet your fundraising and awareness goals!  Get started now!  If you are not online or prefer to collect donations and bring them the day of the walk, call the Center or email us at walk@autismresourcecentral.org and we'll get materials out to you the old-fashioned way!

Sharing your story and asking for support has never been easier than with Firstgiving fundraising pages.  Many people have already started; for inspiration & ideas visit some of the pages already created (find them on our Firstgiving page).

If you'd like assistance creating a page, please email us or call the Center at any time.

 

Registration for the 5K Run is open right now: www.firstgiving.com/arccm

This year, we're sending our runners a special challenge:

RUN FOR FREE!

Collect at least $100 in donations on your Firstgiving fundraising page or by delivering your donations to the Center by April 15th, and we'll refund your $20 registration fee at the race!  Register now and you'll receive an email with the details!

Join us on Facebook and Twitter as we share our goals & dreams with the world!

Our Facebook page has welcomed more than 1,400 fans since August 2009 - join us to stay in touch with what's important and how we're doing.

We've created a new Facebook group just for the walk/run: the place to share ideas & updates, encourage others & even brag a little as our community comes together for the 10th annual Community Walk for Autism Awareness; a benefit for the Autism Resource Center of Central Massachusetts.

We have been using Twitter to share great stories & information for a long time, and now we encourage you to share your tweets about your goals & ideas for fundraising with us - start by tweeting us your Firstgiving page link & we'll spread the word to our followers!  We are @autismcentralma.

Helpful Hints, Materials & other 'stuff' to help you make your day a success.

How to Create a Team

A Letter From Your Child

A Special Message for first-time participants:

For many of you, this may be your first year participating in the walk/run - you've heard the buzz, felt the excitement, but you're still not quite sure how this all works. 

This is our biggest annual fundraiser and our biggest day of celebration, when all of our families and friends gather for a full day of activities, entertainment, games, networking, and sharing our successes with everyone who has supported our journeys with autism.  Friends are made, contacts are made, families get to be at an event where nothing their child does is judged or corrected because everyone fits right in!

We spend the day on the track inside the fenced-in park; there is no 'walk route' - we just walk in circles around the track and all along the way you'll find entertainment for the whole family!

The walk/run is not until April, but the fun actually begins right now. First we ask families to help us make the day a fundraising success by creating an online fundraising page at www.firstgiving.com/arccm and spreading the word to family, friends, coworkers, personal supporters, social media friends (Facebook, mySpace, Twitter, etc) & anyone else you can think of. Create a goal for your family or team and ask everyone to help you achieve that goal so that the Center can continue to provide critical supports to families like yours. Check out all the other tips & tricks to making your first walk/run day a great success, and thank you so much for joining us - we're really happy you're here!

A little trip down memory lane, by our families:

'A DECADE OF DEDICATION' - A RETROSPECTIVE OF THE COMMUNITY WALK FOR AUTISM AWARENESS, 2000-2009!

Runners Runners