Making sure everyone knows your business.

ForimmediatereleaseonorafterMay21,2013

TEXTBLOCKCAPTION FORALLPHOTOS East Bay Street (behind Bahamas Realty) P. O. Box SS-5256 Nassau, The Bahamas
Tel: 242-394-0677 Fax: 242-394-0688 Toll Free: 813-333-5183 Email: Diane@dpa-media.com Website: www.dpa-media.com

REACHing Hearts R.E.A.C.H. President Mario Carey (right) who has biked hundreds of miles to raise
funds for autism awareness and education, urgently appeals to the public to support the only nonprofit organisationforchildrenwiththedisorderthatisgrowingsofastitisnowestimatedtoaffectoneinevery56 boys born in the U.S. Without a quick boost, R.E.A.C.H. summer camp at Gavin Tynes Primary the only program of its kind that provides a safe recreational and educational environment for children with autism and their siblings and jobs for young adults with autism is threatened for the first time in 13 years. R.E.A.C.H. provides all services for free and receives no government funding, though the Ministry of Education provides teachers who earn special needs continuing education certification through the summer camp.Photoonleftshowsformercampattendees,includingsiblings.Seventyattendedlastyearandparents don'tknowwhattheywilldoifthecampishinderedbylackoffunds.

R.E.A.C.H.appealstopublictohelpfundfreecampforautisticchildren
Super salesman Mario Carey looked out at the group gathered at 7 am in a meeting room at the British Colonial Hilton knowing that he had only a few minutes to make one of the most important sales of his life to persuade an audience of Rotarians who had already given $25,000 to create the first specially equipped classroom for preschool age children with autism to reach into their pockets again to salvage financiallystrappedautismsupportorganisationR.E.A.C.H.andtheupcomingsummercamp. "We get no money from government and all of our services are provided for free," said Carey,

presidentofR.E.A.C.H."Autismisthefastestgrowingdevelopmentaldisorder.Itincreased78%inthelastsix years and right now affects one in every 88 births, according to a 2012 report by the Centre for Disease Control. One in every 56 boys born in the U.S. today is diagnosed with autism, whether it is highfunctioning Asperger'sorachildwhoissosociallychallengedthathe doesnotcommunicateandlivesinasolitaryworld thatwecannotevenimagine,"saidCarey,whoseownson,Cole,now16,hasAsperger's."ColeisthereasonI amupheretoday.Heismyinspiration.Iamamongthefortunate,"hecontinued."Icanaffordtheextracare, thespecialschoolwhereColeisnowandisdoingfabulouslywell.ButmostparentsofautisticchildreninThe Bahamas are poor. That is why all our services are free, our education, camp, counselling, weekly support groups, the expert we bring in to train teachers and caregivers. We have trained more than 300 this year in NassauandFreeport,thanksinparttoyourhelpfromRotary.Wepayallthoseexpenses,airfare,hotelroom, and they give of their time for free because they see the need. Most parents in The Bahamas can't afford to pay and we don't want to do anything to discourage them. We want them to know there is help, support, there is a camp in the summer where these children who can't go to any other mainstream camp not the policecampsorchurchcampsorprivatecampscango."

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East Bay Street (behind Bahamas Realty) P. O. Box SS-5256 Nassau, The Bahamas Tel: 242-394-0677 Fax: 242-394-0688 Toll Free: 813-333-5183 Email: Diane@dpa-media.com Website: www.dpa-media.com

Now, for the first time in 13 years that camp is threatened. With $56 in the bank account, Carey is

hopingforamiracle,adonation. About 70 children attended the camp last year, a summer program designed especially for the

youngsters whose sensitivity to sound, light, unexpected activity is heightened along with their literal interpretation of the spoken word. Tell an autistic child to keep his ear to the ground and he will literally le downwithhiseartothefloor.Thereisnounderstandingofsubtletyandoftennoneofhumour.Yetsomeof the world's greatest minds and inventions have been those of autistic people, Albert Einstein among them, manyothermathematiciansandmusicalgeniuses. Brad Heney, a member of the Sunrise Rotary Club of New Providence that Carey was addressing,

knows firsthand what it is like. His son, too, is autistic and now 21, with a photographic memory is able to work in a three storey furniture warehouse abroad, the star employee because he remembers where every item, no matter how small, has been stored. Carey cited the extraordinary case of a man with autism who wasflownoverManhattanandafterthe30minuteflightdrewtheentirecity,everystreet,building,window anddoor. On this day, Carey needed to reach hearts. This is not, he said, a PLP or an FNM thing, this is not

about politics, this is about Bahamian lives. "This is about a summer camp where the siblings of autistic children can also come for free and spend quality time with them. It's also unique because it allows teachers toearntheir required continuingeducationcertificationbyworkingwith childrenwithspecialneedswithout leaving The Bahamas. There is a huge void in qualified teachers for students with special needs, it's a serious problem and this is one small way we can assist with training. There are also education students, interns, whovolunteerandwhenthechildwithautismagesoutat19,theycanworkatthecampandearnastipend. WehavefivegraduatesfromAnatolRodgersHighSchoolSpecialNeedsUnitwhoareemployedtwiceaweek atGavinTynesCentreforAutismand mayassistatthecampthissummer.Theysetupthe classrooms,serve the lunch, clear away. But we can't do any of this without the public's help. We need you. These children needyou."Donationsmaybemadethroughwww.gofundme.orgorreachautismbahamas@yahoo.comor

byphoningtheR.E.A.C.H.officeat3284123orcallingMarioCareyat3577013.

East Bay Street (behind Bahamas Realty) P. O. Box SS-5256 Nassau, The Bahamas Tel: 242-394-0677 Fax: 242-394-0688 Toll Free: 813-333-5183 Email: Diane@dpa-media.com Website: www.dpa-media.com