Thank you to all our walkers, teams, sponsors and supporters! With your help, we have raised $58,377 to support programs benefiting children with autism. There are still a few pledges out, bringing us very close to our goal of $60,000 for this year's walk.

Over 650 walkers braved the Kansas wind to participate in the live walk. It was overwhelming to see this amazing group walking together to raise awareness for their children and friends with autism. Virtual walkers from 16 states also participated. This year’s Autism CARE Walk was truly outstanding, thanks to the wonderful community involvement.

View photos from this year's Autism CARE Walk

Congratulations to our top fundraisers!

This year's top teams are: 

These teams will each be awarded a plaque engraved with the names of everyone on their team. We are also honoring our 3 top fundraising individuals, outside of the top 3 teams, with CARE Walk medals to celebrate their accomplishment.

The 2009 top individual fundraisers are: 

Medals and plaques will be awarded in early May.

T-shirt Pick-up

Due to the tremendous response to this year’s event, we ran out of t-shirts! Participants who qualified for a CARE Walk t-shirt and did not receive it at the event should have filled out a t-shirt order form. If you have qualified for a t-shirt and have not yet ordered your shirt, please make sure to place your order by April 23.

Special thanks to all the students and staff who participated in the Norwich School CARE Walk. 

The school spent time during Autism Awareness Month in April helping their students to understand autism and organized special walks around the neighborhood on April 20th and April 23rd. The whole school, grades pre-K through 12, participated in the project. Teacher Tammy Goebel says, "Our main goal was to make students aware of the diagnoses, and to get students involved in the community service."

What is The Autism CARE Walk and who does it benefit?

The Autism CARE Walk at Heartspring is more than just a walk – it is a walk with a mission! CARE stands for Community of Autism Resources and Education, and any funds raised through this event will help benefit local children who are diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder through workshops and programs offered by Heartspring. The need for autism resources in Sedgwick County has never been greater with over 700 families identified as having a family member with autism.

Building upon the tremendous success of the inaugural walk in 2008, this year’s walk brought more activities for families, fantastic raffle prizes and information on autism resources in the Wichita area. Most importantly, the Autism CARE Walk raises awareness about autism spectrum disorders in our community and across the nation.

How can I stay involved?

Learn more about the CARE Program and other programs at Heartspring to benefit children and families.