Eat Pizza, Throw Your Shells and Help Fight Autism

You might be planning on going out to eat tonight, or Friday, or this weekend. You might be thinking burgers, pasta or maybe Chinese—but who really cares right now, right?

If you could make it pizza on Thursday night at you could also be making a difference in the lives of some families in McHenry County.

And there's no catch.

There's no extra charge. Nobody with a pamphlet is going to corner you and try to sell you something. You're just going to enjoy your pizza, peanuts and drinks like you normally would but from 4 to 10 p.m. this Thursday, April 26, every single penny of the net proceeds will go towards the Children’s Center for Autism-Sage House, a division of Pioneer Center for Human Services.

The event is in recognition of National Autism Month. According to the Centers for Disease Control, one in 88 American children has autism. The new figures released this month represent a 23 percent jump in autism-related disorders from 2006 to 2008, affecting roughly a million young people in the U.S. Autism Spectrum Disorders are almost five times more common among boys (1 in 54) than among girls (1 in 252).

The Children’s Center for Autism-Sage House is an amazing place, founded in September 2000 by the parent of a child with autism. It provides autism information, resources and agency linkage as well as a 24-hour therapeutic group home for children ages 6-21 diagnosed with severe autism. Sage House is the only children’s group home in McHenry County and one of very few in the state of Illinois that is specifically designed to meet the needs of children with severe autism.

“We are very excited to be working with Nick’s Pizza in fundraising for Children’s Center for Autism-Sage House and growing services for autism in our community,” said Patrick Maynard, President/CEO of Pioneer Center for Human Services.

In 2010, Children’s Center for Autism merged with Pioneer Center for Human Services, a non-profit agency that provides direct services to more than 2,700 individuals each year. Pioneer Center addresses social issues in the forms of poverty, homelessness, sexual assault, at-risk youth and families, developmental disabilities, mental illness, and substance abuse.

So eat some pizza, throw your peanut shells on the floor and help a tremendous cause.

I'll see you Thursday at Nick's!