AU – Katoomba RRT assists with Nova Walk for Autism February 2016

On Saturday 27th of February the weather turned on its very best for the Nova’s Walk for Autism Event in Katoomba. This event was held to raise much needed funds for 3 charities: The Luke Priddis Foundation, Autism Australia, and Katoomba High School Autism facility which has 38 students.

Autism is a lifelong developmental condition that affects the way an individual relates to his or her environment, and their interaction with other people. Some people may be able to live relatively normal lives, while others may have accompanying learning challenges and require continued specialist support.

The main areas of difficulty are in social communication, social interaction and restricted or repetitive behaviours and interests.

People on the autism spectrum may also have:

• unusual sensory interests such as sniffing objects or staring intently at moving objects
• sensory sensitivities including avoiding everyday sounds and textures such as hair dryers, vacuum cleaners and sand
• intellectual impairment or learning difficulties

An estimated one in 100 people have autism; that’s almost 230,000 Australians. Autism affects almost four times as many boys than girls.

After seeing a need at Katoomba High School Autism Facility, the team at Nova Employment did a fantastic job with great enthusiasm to coordinate this event, completely on a voluntary basis.  Congratulations to Nova for exceeding targets in both fundraising, and the number of attendees!

Walkers took part in a 12-hour relay walking event around the carpark at Katoomba RSL Club.

Walkers get Underway

RRT volunteers from Katoomba cooked & served breakfast of egg & bacon rolls to set the walkers on their way.

Breakfast is Served Grounds RRT Breakfast Team with team of Coordinators from NOVA Employment

RRT also served a lunch of sausage sandwiches, which helped to boost energy and provide a break for the dedicated walkers who committed themselves to walking for the whole 12 hours.

Serving Lunch

Special mention goes to local sponsors: Katoomba Coles & Colless Foods for the donation of food, local radio station Katoomba 98.1 for advertising the event, and Reece Plumbing and Bendigo Bank.  All these contributed to a very successful day.

Other Sponsors

RRT is very grateful for the opportunity to support the local community in Katoomba, and national charities. We look forward to working with Nova again next year!

Foundations that were supported