Autism Speaks Walk 16
On December 4th, 2016, the annual Autism Speaks walk took place at Angels Stadium to help raise crucial funds to support vital research, programs, and services that are changing the future for those who are impacted by autism. This year the event raised $199,469! We are excited to share that Team Rainbow Rising had a total of 78 members. It was an honor to be part of such a great event and we are already looking forward to next year.
Families Forward 16
Rainbow Rising is happy to share it’s continued participation in support of Families Forward, through their annual Canned Food Drive and the Thanksgiving Basket Distribution. Families Forward exists to help families in need achieve and maintain self-sufficiency through housing, food, counseling, education, and other support services. This year’s event helped over 800 families in need!
Operation Gratitude 16
During the month of November Rainbow Rising participated in Operation Gratitude’s candy collection for the troops. The children generously donated their extra Halloween candy to help this great cause. Operation Gratitude sends 200,000+ care packages annually. These packages benefit Veterans, First Responders, New Recruits, Wounded Heroes, their Caregivers, and individually named U.S. service members deployed overseas and their families waiting at home. This year Rainbow Rising was able to donate over 500 lbs. of candy!
Read for the Record 16
Rainbow Rising is proud to have participated for the second year in Jumpstart’s Read for the Record, a national campaign that was launched over a decade ago that inspires adults to read with children, spurs policymakers and organizations to take action towards trans-formative change in early education, and puts books in the hands of more children across the country. Read for the Record is the world’s largest shared reading experience that spotlights the importance of high-quality early education. On Thursday, October 27, 2016, a total of 794 children throughout the Rainbow Rising centers gathered to learn, laugh, and read this year’s campaign book, The Bear Ate Your Sandwich by Julia Sarcone-Roach. With our participation, not only were we able to beat our own Rainbow Rising record by 165 children, but also we were able to help Orange County reach a grand total of 58,679 children read to on October 27, 2016 beating last year’s record by 178!