The Organization for Autism Research Competes for $50,000 Prize to Improve Lives of Young Adults with Autism
Arlington, VA (PRWEB) August 08, 2017 -- The Organization for Autism Research (OAR), a national nonprofit formed and led by relatives of children and adults with autism, announces that it is one of 15 semifinalists for The Encore Prize: Generation to Generation Challenge. The national competition will award $50,000 each to two winners with innovative ideas for engaging people over the age of 50 to improve the lives of vulnerable children and youth.
Selected from 180 applicants, OAR is a nonprofit organization that promotes research to help families, educators, caregivers, and individuals with autism find much-needed answers to their immediate and urgent questions. Winning The Encore Prize will allow OAR to broaden Hire Autism, a program that connects people across the autism-spectrum with autism-friendly jobs, employers, and support, by adding Hire Autism Advocates. Over the next five years, the Hire Autism program plans to match more than 500 job advocates with 2,000 young job seekers with autism, increasing their chances of finding meaningful work.
“Success in a first job will change the life of a young person with autism. The Organization for Autism Research, Hire Autism, and our job seekers will be a formidable force for good that will change many young lives,” said Michael Maloney, Executive Director of OAR. “In the process, our young people with autism will redefine workplace diversity in a manner and scale not seen before.”
Members of the public can vote for Hire Autism/OAR once per day, from August 8 through 31, and help their project advance to the final stage of judging. In early September, Encore.org will announce five finalists who will compete in October for two $50,000 awards.
“Older adults, and the talent and experience they bring, are an overlooked national resource,” said Eunice Lin Nichols, Generation to Generation Campaign Director. “Millions of kids growing up in challenging circumstances need more caring adults in their lives. The Encore Prize will invest in innovators who bring the generations together, delivering the strength of encore talent to kids who need champions.”
Learn more and vote for Hire Autism/The Organization for Autism Research here.
About The Organization of Autism Research (OAR)
The Organization for Autism Research (OAR) is a national nonprofit organization formed and led by relatives of children and adults with autism. Since 2001, OAR is dedicated to promoting research that can be applied to help families, educators, caregivers, and individuals with autism find much-needed answers to their immediate and urgent questions. Learn more at their website: http://www.researchautism.org.
About Encore
Encore.org is a national nonprofit building a movement to tap the skills and and talents of experienced adults to improve communities and the world. Generation to Generation is Encore.org’s five-year campaign to mobilize adults 50+ to help young people thrive. The Encore Prize is designed to recognize and support innovative individuals and organizations of any age with new ideas to use the experience of people over 50 to help solve pressing social problems. The 2017 challenge focuses specifically on helping kids at risk.
Michael Maloney, Organization for Autism Research, https://researchautism.org/, +1 703-216-1115, [email protected]
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