Westlake event helps Cure Autism Now

CHUCK ROGERS/The Acorn SAMPLING THE PROMENADE-Christian Luneberg of Rosti's Restaurant serves Lee and Helen Taft samples of the restaurant's Tuscan cuisine at last week's fundraiser to fight autism. The event, "A Taste of the Promenade," was sponsored by Coldwell Banker Realtors and was hosted at their Westlake Village-Promenade office. Proceeds of the event went to the Cure Autism Now Foundation.

Supporters in the fight against autism turned out in force last week at Westlake Promenade for a gala fundraiser on behalf of the Cure Autism Now Foundation (CAN).

Coldwell Banker sponsored the event, part of a 90-day all-out effort to raise money and awareness against a disease that affects more than 40,000 families in America.

"It’s kind of a silent disease," said Diana Brookes, Coldwell Banker senior vice president. "Once the managers announced the fundraiser in their offices, parents of autistic children started to step forward."

Autism is a lifelong neurological disorder that usually strikes in the first few years of life. It causes severe language impairment and difficulties in recognition and communication.

Half of all autistic children will never speak.

In Southern California, it’s estimated that one in every 250 children is affected by some form of autism.

Pat Smith of Simi Valley brought her 4-year-old grandson, Connor, to the fundraiser. Smith said that because Connor has autism, he couldn’t recognize his own father until recently.

She hopes fundraisers like this will help Connor improve.

"It’s such a worthwhile cause and it’s so exasperating when you have a child who is autistic," Smith said. "Anything that can be done to get these kids moving in the right direction is a good thing."

CAN member Alexis Teplitz said other groups provide services and support for autistic children, but CAN is the only organization seeking to find a cure for the disease.

Teplitz, a Thousand Oaks resident, has a son who’s autistic.

"He’s never been able to tell me when he’s sick. He’s just turned 10 and he’s starting to get real frustrated," Teplitz said.

"This is a very big thing."

According to Bob LeFever, Coldwell Banker president, the idea to support CAN was started by a company employee who’s the parent of an autistic child.

Starting in July, the company’s real estate agents began donating a portion of their sales commissions to CAN. Coldwell Banker matched the agents’ contributions and soon more than $350,000 was raised. Additional corporate sponsorships have increased the kitty.

"We were shocked by how many of our sales people have been touched by this," LeFever said.

But the fundraising isn’t over.

Tonight, Hollywood stars Anthony Edwards and Rene Russo will headline a $200-a-plate CAN fundraiser at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

"The board of directors at CAN are overwhelmed with it all," LeFever said.

Other activities during Coldwell’s three-month push to support CAN include bake sales, silent auctions and athletic events.

Despite the recent efforts, CAN supporters say the fight against autism is lagging.

According to CAN’s mission statement, "The $25 per-person per-year allocated to autism is in stark contrast to the national funding that is allocated to other common diseases such as Alzheimer’s ($54 per person), multiple sclerosis ($158 per person) and AIDS ($1,069) per person."

Since its founding in 1995, CAN has directed over $5 million toward autism research.

The Promenade event included magic acts, food and live musical entertainment.