HHS Interact held our very first "Light It Up Blue" event at Hernando's historic Square in April of 2012 with the goal of educating our community about the Autism Spectrum Disorders. This event brought over 500 people and countless vendors to the square to learn about early detection and therapy as well as local services and support groups available in our area. It also helped educate a whole new generation about what they could do to support and celebrate their peers on the spectrum. This event was the catapult for the club's future projects and earned Hernando High School the "Business of the Month" award in May 2012. We have continued to expand our efforts for Autism Awareness every April since then. Each year we have a school wide assembly with guest speakers who speak to our student body about the challenges and successes of life on the spectrum. We have also sponsored 3 "Bolt for Blue" 5K runs to raise money for ARC of Northwest Mississippi which serves many children with special needs in our area. We have also partnered with Retrieving Freedom, a local service dog training organization on two occasions to help two different Mississippi families get their children autism service dogs. These efforts attracted the attention of statewide and national autism awareness groups and were featured on the television series Small Town, Big Deal and highlighted at the 2016 Peach Bowl pregame broadcast. More importantly, our awareness campaign has had a profound effect on our student body who have embraced not just awareness and acceptance of children on the autism spectrum, but have also been motivated to work with children with special needs in many different capacities. Our students regularly volunteer for Special Olympics, Special Tigers, Art to Achieve, Camp Bold, and A Night to Shine – just to name a few. |
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