Tybee Island, GA -Georgia based autism organization Surfers For Autism needs more volunteers for their annual Coastal Empire Beach Festival. The event takes place at Tybee Island Pier and Pavilion in Georgia this Saturday September 6 from 9 A.M to 4 P.M.
Some 200 children with autism will go out into the water to surf with two to four helpers. There is a “master instructor” or “master surfer.” The other volunteers don’t need to be surfers themselves. Based on wristband color, groups of thirty will go out in the water for at least 30 minutes in the morning and then again in the afternoon. When not surfing there will be a gaming tent, fire truck painting, raffles, and live music.
This event gives children on the spectrum the chance to explore the water which many of them love, and have fun sans parents, a building experience many claim helps the child stay focused for months, to even years afterword.
To help repay the volunteers for their time, local restaurants will offer free lunches and later, from 6-10 P.M, there will be a party with free beer held at Marlin Monroe’s Surfside Grill at 404 Butler Ave. So far only three hundred volunteers have signed up.
To sign up as a volunteer please go to www.surfersforautism.org. and click the sign up box. If this is your first time select “Not a member,” and input all your info. Veteran volunteer Marry Liz Pulk asks that all helpers please arrive at the beach promptly at 9 A.M. for instructions on how best to talk to the children. Volunteers must be at least 18-years-old or have a notarized signed waiver.
To learn more about this totally tubular event please visit the website www.surfersforautism.org