April 10, 2015 at 4:17 p.m.
Light it up
Local business working to raise autism awareness
Light it up
The staff at Heck Capital Advisors in Rhinelander is participating in the national "Light It Up Blue" campaign to help shine a light on autism and the importance of research.
Stevie Radzinski, client service and operations associate at Heck Capital Advisors, said it's an important cause for the company.
"We wanted to participate in the 'Light It Up Blue' on April 2," she said. "We turned the building blue and we're keeping it that way all month long."
Generally, autism will appear before children turn three and is diagnosed four times more often in boys than girls.
Early intervention and treatment of autism can greatly improve the varried symptoms of the disorder.
It's a bio-neurological disorder that affects the development of the brain in areas of social interaction, cognitive function and communication.
Radzinski said autism affects families across the Northwoods and Heck Capital Advisors is thrilled to help spread the word about the disorder and the need for further research.
"We really wanted to spread awareness," she said. "I have a lot of friends whose children are autistic. Since the numbers are on the rise, we really wanted to help raise awareness and portray to the fact that early intervention is so very important."
That means an overdose of blue. Driving by at night, the Heck Capital Advisors building is bathed in bright, blue light. During the day the staff is decked out for the cause.
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"The blue building is part of the 'Light It Up Blue,'" Radzinski said. "We're all wearing blue all month long and we've got special wristbands to help raise awareness. Also, a lot of us in the office have donated to AutismSpeaks.org in hopes to fund more research."
So far, there have been plenty of encouraging reactions from the community, but Radzinski said it's just the first step in what she's hoping will turn into a community-wide initiative.
"We've had a very positive reaction to it," she said. "We're hoping to get more businesses involved in the future. We want to do this every year and we want others to light their buildings up as well. I know there are other businesses that have already changed their bulbs from white to blue and I've changed mine at home as well."
Andy Hildebrand may be reached at [email protected].
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