After the success of the “Border Challenge for Autism” event that our team held last year many of the individuals and organizations asked if we could do the event again in 2010. We selected to do the event in April for Autism Awareness month and again partnered with the MU Thompson Center and K-CART (Kansas Center for Autism Research and Training).

This year’s event, “Border Challenge for Autism II” drew 250 attendees to Boulevard Brewing Co. for a Wednesday evening happy hour event. At the event a short presentation was given on the two organizations it benefitted, as well as information on Project Change. To tap into the MU / KU border rivalry, we invited Steven St. John and Nate Bukaty of 810 Radio’s Border Patrol to be our emcee’s. Attendees were able to vote for the school they were supporting by placing their ticket into the bowl for their school. The school that got more people to the event received a larger portion of the money raised.

This year the winner was KU…who beat out MU after their big victory last year. Both organizations were incredibly pleased with the increased awareness we generated for them and are ready to continue the event again in 2011. The $10,000 we raised through sponsors, ticket sales and raffle was just icing on the cake!