Autism Speaks 2015

It was a splendidly beautiful Saturday morning in Honolulu - the water was a brilliant blue and the cooling trade winds danced through the palms. A great day to be outside – a wonderful day for the Autism Speaks walk at Magic Island in Ala Moana.

Autism Speaks is an autism advocacy organization that brings awareness of autism, its treatments and therapies to communities across the United States. This wonderful non-profit organization sponsors autism research and conducts awareness and outreach activities aimed at helping families, governments and the public. One in 68 children today are diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, and that's just in the United States.

As we’ve done in the past, the Locations Foundation, the not-for-profit arm of Locations, was a proud sponsor of the Autism Speaks event. Equipped with a booth, games and prizes for all the children at the walk, the Foundation volunteers aimed to bring a smile to everyone’s face. I know being part of the event and seeing all the happy kids certainly made us smile.

In addition to the Autism Speaks walk, the Foundation reaches out to our local community with donations and volunteer hours to support organizations that help the people of Hawaii.

A big mahalo to the many volunteers and walkers who turned out for the event. Thank you for making the event such a HUGE success!

Tom Mukai, Angela Brenna, Cheri Ambard, Miho Miki May, Heather and Kaiya Arias, Andrew Leong, April Luga and family, Jodie Tamaye, Hazel Unciano, Helgi Thorhallsson and Meredith Hermosurm, Ed Chong, Ali Ban, Vincent Lin, Shawn Baker and family, Sean Yano and family, Elizabeth LaRiva, Gay Sapp, Laura Chinen, Lynn Kaneshiro, Melinda Momoki, Peter Nishimura, Liberty Lhimphavyanh, Chad Takesue and daughter, Sheldon Makanoi, Lindsey Itamoto, Paul Leong, Lee Wang, Jon Yamasato, Michele An and family, Michele Baloun, Nana Thain, Jade Roach, Mitchell Remba, Lisa Chang, Christian Edu and Alyssa Edu.

Mahalo! We look forward to seeing you again next year.