Forestburg family raising Autism awareness through new event this weekend

Last March, Dr. Jeff Serfas, who owns and operates Forestburg Veterinary Clinic, received a diagnosis that his son Joey has Autism. Joey is six years old.

Since then, the family has worked with a lot of support in the community, and received a lot of support and help, and Serfas has been looking for a way to give back, and to support other families dealing with Autism.

“We were looking for something to get behind, and Autism Speaks Canada fits the bill for us completely,” says partner Miranda Skoretz. “They are more geared towards the research end, for prevention, causes, and treatment.

“It’s becoming more and more prevalent, more talked about in schools, and people are starting to understand better what the behaviours, management, and coping strategies are, for the person, the families, and the community.”

With a large education component, Autism Speaks has given Jeff and Miranda so much support, she said, they are inspired to give something back.

So they have created a new event to raise funds locally for Autism Speaks they are calling “Paws for the Cause.”

Essentially, they are inviting everyone to come to Forestburg on Sunday, April 23 to bring their dog and join them for a walk.

Walkers are being encouraged to try to raise funds by getting people to pledge money for them to walk.

For those who don’t want to walk, Skoretz says there will be a barbecue at the vet clinic at 2 p.m. for all walkers and for anyone else who wants to take part.

“This is a stressful disease for families to go through,” Skoretz says. “It’s sometimes misdiagnosed, and for kids in school, we hope that awareness will encourage acceptance and understanding.”

She says they didn’t get into the school this year to ask students to participate, but would like to next year. “We would love to turn this into an annual event.”

She says they aren’t looking to raise huge amounts of money, “We set a goal for $1,500 this year, and I would love to see a crowd of 50 to 100 people.”