Way to Go! Westhampton Beach student raises $30G for autism
Abby Edwards. Credit: Westhampton Beach School District
A Westhampton Beach High School student whose brother has autism has given back to the center he attends in the form of $30,000.
Abby Edwards, a junior, coordinated a pajama day fundraiser for the past five years to benefit the upstate Anderson Center for Autism, which her brother, Riley, attends. The most recent fundraiser collected $12,000, her biggest amount yet, and was held in conjunction with Autism Awareness Day in April.
"Little did I know that when I started this I would be doing it annually, raising more than $30,000," said Edwards, who collects donations through autismawarenesspjday.com, a website she created. "I've always been super-close with my brother, so having him living away from home is always difficult. However, the Anderson Center has made it easier for my family and I because we know how much my brother and other Anderson students are cared for."
Edwards started the fundraiser as a seventh-grader by hosting a pajama day for autism awareness while she was a student at East Moriches Middle School. Since then, she has signed on eight area schools — including Westhampton Beach High School, where students and staff also wore blue clothing and ribbons in support of the cause.
In her spare time, Edwards is a Girl Scout and a member of her school's Youth to Youth Club.
— MICHAEL R. EBERT
Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.
