On September 8th, 2019, we celebrated our 15th annual Autism Beach Bash with our amazing families in the autism community, on the beautiful 7th Avenue Beach in Belmar, New Jersey! Approximately 7,000 people attended the event, making this one of our biggest Autism Beach Bashes to date! The day was packed with live entertainment, food, music, arts and crafts, games, yoga, and so much more! But, without a doubt, one of the highlights of the day was Surfers Healing.
Our Partner Surfer’s Healing
Surfers Healing is a nonprofit whose mission is to enrich the lives of people living with autism by exposing them to the unique experience of surfing. They bring world class, professionally trained surfers to camps around the world. The surfers help individuals with autism ride a surfboard and try something they wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to experience. Surfer’s Healing have been at Autism Beach Bash since the start and year after year, they have brought smiles to the faces of parents and children alike. Seeing a child get up on a surfboard and accomplish something that parents never thought possible is part of what makes Autism Beach Bash such a magical day for the staff, volunteers and hundreds of families who attend. Without Surfers Healing, Beach Bash would not be where it is today.
Humble Beginnings
Fifteen years ago, Autism Beach Bash started out as a much smaller event focused on only surfing and it wasn’t called Autism Beach Bash at the time. Local communities loved the event but there were nowhere near to the thousands of guests that attend today. But we all knew there was something truly special about this event. Soon, guests became recurring guests and gradually, the magic of Autism Beach Bash started to spread and Beach Bash kept growing attracting more and more autism community members.
As more people started to join us, Autism Family Services (AFSNJ) began adding different activities to provide support and provide information and resources for families living with autism the other 364 days of the year. What started out as a small event for local families is now the largest autism community gathering on the East Coast attracting thousands of people throughout New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and even Virginia and Maryland too! In addition to surfing, families will now find an exhibition tent full of information and resources for the Autism community, trained staff onsite to assist you in the event of an emergency, and quite simply, a judgement free day on the beach alongside families with similar journeys. We owe a huge thank you to our partner, Surfers Healing who have continued to partner with AFSNJ to make Autism Beach Bash the perfect day for you.
Thank You For All That You Do
But, our biggest thank you goes out to you; everyone in the autism community. Friends, families, sons and daughters, thank you for coming back to Autism Beach Bash every year. You are who makes it so much fun and why our team calls it “the best day of the year.”
As Autism Beach Bash continues to grow, we all benefit by spreading awareness and empowering individuals with autism. Thank you again for coming, and we hope to see you next year for another magical Autism Beach Bash.
