Murrayville鈥檚 Saran family held its sixth annual bottle drive to raise funds for the Canucks Autism Network (CAN) on Saturday, April 6.
While the weather forecast wasn鈥檛 going to deter their efforts, Sherry Saran said they were still grateful the rain held off.
After only 20 minutes, more than 20 cars had driven through to drop off bags of bottles.
鈥淭he reason we do this is because Ethan [my son], who鈥檚 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,鈥� Mom 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.
鈥淲e鈥檝e seen so much success for Ethan throughout the years working with CAN, and they鈥檙e so underfunded. So, we felt that, me being a realtor, I had the platform to give it more of an awareness.鈥�
A total of funds raised on Saturday is not yet available. Last year, the Saran family bottle drive brought in a record $8,000, which they matched. To date, they鈥檝e raised close to $40,000 for the cause.
鈥淚t鈥檚 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,鈥� she commented.
Saran thanked the community for its continued support, the Township of 91原创 firefighters who have attended the bottle drive since day one, and Flowers on 240th for donating flowers for the fundraiser.
Tillie Williamson, fundraising specialist for CAN, has personally come out for five of the Saran family fundraisers.
鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 miss it鈥� they have raised thousands and thousands of dollars for CAN and our programs, and we hope to continue this partnership with the community for many more years to come,鈥� she told the 91原创 Advance Times.
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鈥檚 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.
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