Murrayville's Saran family is stepping forward for a seventh consecutive year to celebrate autism awareness month in April.
On Saturday, April 6, the Saran family will hold their sixth annual bottle drive to raise awareness and support for CAN and Autism Spectrum Disorder, at the corner of Fraser Highway and 222 Street in the School District #35 parking lot from noon to 3 p.m.
“The reason we do this is because Ethan [my son], who’s on the autism spectrum, excelled very well with the Canucks Autism Network program. And what they do for children and families like us makes a huge difference,” Mom Sherry Saran explained.
The one-on-one support that CAN offers has helped children with autism learn new skills, participate in sports such as swimming or hockey, and give them a feeling of inclusion, she said.
“We’ve seen so much success for Ethan throughout the years working with CAN, and they’re so underfunded. So, we felt that, me being a realtor, I had the platform to give it more of an awareness.”
This year the goal is to raise $10,000. To date, they’ve raised about $40,000 for the cause.
“It’s just amazing how much money [the community] donates, and the bottles. We get families who have recently been diagnosed and come through to talk to us,” she commented.
Founded in 2008 by Vancouver Canucks co-owners, Paolo and Clara Aquilini, whose son is on the autism spectrum, CAN is a registered charity that provides programs for individuals on the autism spectrum and their families, while promoting acceptance and inclusion through community engagement and training initiatives.
It’s estimated that one in 30 children and youth is on the autism spectrum, which means there are more than 26,000 children and youth on the spectrum province-wide.
