Skip to content

Coming together for autism

Rednecks with a Cause had another successful year, raising roughly $30,000 for the cause.
Rednecks007web

Rednecks with a Cause had another successful year, raising roughly $30,000 for the cause.

Members of the community came together to raise awareness and funding for the local organization during their annual gala at Notre Dame High School (NDHS) on Saturday, April 27.

Gary Mostert, president and founder of Rednecks with a Cause, said they’re never disappointed with the support they receive.

”We’re always just very blessed that our town comes out and supports us. We’re always surprised with how much they support us at the end of the night,” he expressed.

This was their first time hosting this event at the high school, but that didn’t impact their attendance.

”We moved to (NDHS) because the principal is a very dear friend of his,” explained Kristy L’Hirondelle, treasurer for Rednecks with a Cause and gala organizer. “He offered his school, and we took it to the school board. We sold all of our 30 tables in two weeks, so I had to add 10 more tables and we sold all 40 tables.”

While they don’t have a particular project in mind this year, Mostert said they’re on the lookout for what they can do.

”We would like to start looking at our next speaker, we do the training opportunities and stuff, and obviously the more money we raise the more things we can look into... We would hope to bring back a high-end speaker to speak on specific needs and how to provide specific services.”

L’Hirondelle added, “We want to make sure that the sensory rooms in all of the schools, from preschool all the way to Grade 12, are growing and constantly adjusting to kids. We’ll probably do more donations to the schools, but, right now, we’re just waiting for the right opportunity to come along.”

For the past four years, Susan Bishop has volunteered with Rednecks with a Cause and has seen what the organization does for education.

As a parent of a child with Asperger’s, she knows first-hand how vital these programs are in schools.

Mostert said this year, the gala received the most silent auction items they’ve ever had.

”The town has been very generous,” he exclaimed.

Over 100 items were up for bidding through the silent auction, while 10 were included in the live auction, where over $13,000 was raised. The event isn’t only about fundraising. For Mostert, it’s about putting living on the autism spectrum front and centre.

”Society, in general, tends to think of children with disabilities as different, and they are different, but, it’s not about, ‘how do we treat them special?’ It’s about, ‘how do we live around them so they can live as normal as possible?’” Mostert said. “We’re starting to educate the public that this is in our town, these kids are employable, they have skills, very special skills, and we’re excited to keep doing that for children.”

L’Hirondelle added, “A lot of the time people think a kid with autism is just weird or misbehaved. They don’t understand that tantrums and breakdowns are two totally different things, and the more we get people out here talking and educated the more people are aware that the kid in the grocery store throwing a fit, maybe you should give his mom a hand instead of glaring at her and saying, ‘you should have spanked him more as a kid.’”

Although raising awareness is a big part of it, so is sending a message to the parents of those with autistic children.

”I think to encourage young parents that they’re not alone in this journey and that there’s people who deeply care about where you go forward with your kid and the services your kid receives, and the opportunities available to your child,” noted Mostert.

push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks