Athletes Against Autism - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Athletes Against Autism is a nonprofit organization

Nonprofit organization

Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...

founded by NHL

National Hockey League

The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

players Olaf Kolzig

Olaf Kölzig

Olaf Kölzig is a retired German professional ice hockey goaltender and associate goalie coach for the Washington Capitals. With the exception of 8 games with the Tampa Bay Lightning, he played his entire 14 year career with the Capitals...

, Byron Dafoe

Byron Dafoe

Byron Dafoe is a British-Canadian former National Hockey League goaltender. He was born in Worthing, Sussex, England and moved to Duncan, British Columbia with his mother at the age of two months old. Between 1992 and 2004, he played for the Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals, Los Angeles Kings...

, and Scott Mellanby

Scott Mellanby

Scott Edgar Mellanby is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player. He primarily played right wing throughout his career, on occasion shifting over to the left side. He is the son of former Hockey Night in Canada producer Ralph Mellanby. He is currently the assistant coach of the St...

. It is led by athletes personally touched by autism

Autism

Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...

who are raising awareness and funds for research, treatment, and education. Affiliated with Cure Autism Now (now Autism Speaks

Autism Speaks

Autism Speaks is the world's largest autism advocacy organization that sponsors autism research and conducts awareness and outreach activities aimed at families, governments, and the public. It was founded in February 2005 by Bob Wright, vice chairman of General Electric, and by his wife Suzanne, a...

), Athletes Against Autism leverages the status and influence of athletes in a number of sports to educate people about autism.

In addition to the three founding members of the organization, other members include the following athletes:

Stu Barnes

Stu Barnes

Stuart Barnes is an assistant coach with the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League . He played 16 seasons at centre in the NHL with the Winnipeg Jets, Florida Panthers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Buffalo Sabres, and Dallas Stars....

, Dallas Stars; Mike Blowers

Mike Blowers

Michael Roy Blowers is a former Major League Baseball third baseman and first baseman. He is an alumnus of Bethel High School in Spanaway, Washington, Tacoma Community College and the University of Washington...

, former MLB player; Will Clark

Will Clark

William Nuschler Clark, Jr. is a former first baseman in Major League Baseball best known for his years with the San Francisco Giants from to .Will was known by the nickname of "Will the Thrill"...

, former Texas Ranger; Darwin Cook

Darwin Cook

Darwin Louis Cook is an American former professional basketball in the NBA.Cook, a 6'3"/1.91 m point guard played for four seasons at the University of Portland, and was subsequently selected by the Detroit Pistons with 70th overall pick in the 1980 NBA draft.His NBA career lasted from 1980 to...

, former New Jersey Net, LA Legend of Basketball; David Eckstein

David Eckstein

David Mark Eckstein is a former American professional baseball player who was an infielder in Major League Baseball for ten seasons. He played college baseball for the University of Florida, and has played professionally for the Anaheim Angels, St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, Arizona...

, St. Louis Cardinals; Doug Flutie

Doug Flutie

Douglas Richard "Doug" Flutie is a former American and Canadian football quarterback. Flutie played college football at Boston College, and played professionally in the National Football League, Canadian Football League, and United States Football League...

, New England Patriots; Eric Fonoimoana

Eric Fonoimoana

Eric Fonoimoana is an American volleyball player who currently resides in Hermosa Beach, California. He was born in Manhattan Beach, California, and attended UCSB, where he became a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity . He is most notable for winning the gold medal in the 2000 Olympic Games. He has...

, AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Champion and U.S. Olympic Gold Medalist; Jim Gott

Jim Gott

James William Gott , is a former professional baseball player who pitched in the major leagues from 1982-1995.Fourth round pick, June draft, of St. Louis Cardinals in 1977....

, former Los Angeles Dodger; LaMar Green, former NBA player and Legend of Basketball; Melanie Roach

Melanie Roach

Melanie Roach is an Olympic weightlifter for the United States. She lives in Bonney Lake, Washington where she owns Roach Gymnastics, Inc....

, Weightlifting Champion; Albert Hannemann, AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Champion; Erik Hanson, former MLB pitcher; Steve Jolley

Steve Jolley

Steve Jolley is a retired American soccer defender, who spent ten seasons in Major League Soccer and one in the USL Premier Development League....

, FC Dallas; Andruw Jones

Andruw Jones

Andruw Rudolf Jones is a Major League Baseball outfielder who is a free agent.Jones made his debut during the 1996 season. In the 1996 World Series, Jones became the youngest player to ever homered in the postseason...

, Chicago White Sox; Bill Krueger

Bill Krueger

William Culp Krueger , is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played from -. Krueger would play for the Oakland A's, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, Seattle Mariners, Minnesota Twins, Montreal Expos, Detroit Tigers, and San Diego Padres.-Early career:After graduating from McMinnville...

, former MLB pitcher and Fox NW broadcaster; Travis LaBoy

Travis LaBoy

Travis LaBoy is an American football linebacker for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the second round of the 2004 NFL Draft...

, Tennessee Titans; Hugh Millen

Hugh Millen

Hugh Breedlove Millen is a former professional American football player who was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the third round of the 1986 NFL Draft. A 6'5", 216-lb...

, former NFL quarterback; Kevin Millwood

Kevin Millwood

Kevin Austin Millwood is an American professional baseball pitcher. He has previously played for the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles and Colorado Rockies.-Personal life:Millwood graduated from Bessemer City High School in North Carolina...

, Texas Rangers; Greg Swindell

Greg Swindell

Forest Gregory "Greg" Swindell is an American former Major League Baseball player, who had a 17-year career as a left-handed pitcher from to...

, former Arizona Diamondback; and Curt Warner

Curt Warner

Curtis Edward Warner is a former professional American football running back. A two-time All-American at Penn State University, Warner was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the first round of the 1983 NFL Draft...

, former Seattle Seahawk.

In August, 2008, Paretoplatform.com

Paretoplatform.com

Paretoplatform.com is a vendor of Customer Relationship Management solutions, which it delivers to businesses over the internet using the software as a service model.-Origins:...

was a major sponsor of the Inaugural Canada Athletes Against Autism Golf Tournament in Kelowna

Kelowna

Kelowna is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley, in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. Its name derives from a Okanagan language term for "grizzly bear"...

, BC, Canada. The event raised nearly $200,000.00 for Athletes Against Autism.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.