A red-and-white Chevy Corvette, a 1940 purple Ford, a 1969 Malibu and a 1957 Ford Thunderbird were just a few of the antique/custom cars on display Sunday at the Turnpike Cruise for a Cure benefiting the Nassau-Suffolk Chapter of the Autism Society of America. The debut event was held in the parking lot at David Lerner Associates, which sponsored Cruise for a Cure along with the Centurion Cruisers Car Club.
The event, which raised $2,000, began as a way to help a Centurion Cruiser member's grandchild who is afflicted with autism.
"Car enthusiasts are generally generous and helpful people, so supporting autism was easy for us," said Alex Barnych, an investment counselor at David Lerner Associates and a member of the Centurion Cruisers Car Club. "The minute we found out about one of our member's grandchildren, we knew we had to help in some way."
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Grateful for the tremendous support was Suzanne Reek, president of the board of directors for the Nassau-Suffolk Chapter of the Autism Society of America.
"This event is wonderful," she said. "It is rare nowadays that you meet a person that isn't affected by autism. NSASA brings awareness such as training staffs at restaurants like the Outback Steakhouse in Merrick and Commack how to deal with autistic children. They are not just kids acting out for no reason, they have a lot of sensory issues that must be addressed."
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Autism hit close to home for Valerie and Craig Pitasi of Greenlawn, whose son suffers from the disorder.
"Our son who has a passion for cars, is 21 years old and has autism," Craig explains. "He loves the history of cars and how they are made, so this is the perfect place for us to be. We get to support autism and enjoy all these great cars."
A big fan of fictional superhero Captain America is Bob Glanzman of Commack, who knew he wanted to build a car in honor of the Marvel Comics character. His cousin is Joe Simon, creator of Captain America. Glanzman also knew he wanted to support autism.
'"I am a retired police officer and we used to have sessions teaching us about autism which gave me a lot of insight," Glanzman said. "I am a big supporter and happy to be here."
For more information about donating for volunteering with the Nassau-Suffolk Chapter of the Autism Society of America, visit www.nsasa.org.
