Student group to traverse coast to raise money for autism

Senior John Lose will join five other college students in rowing Van Duyne surf boats a total of 1,500 miles from Boca Raton, Fla., to Wildwood, N.J., this summer in efforts to raise awareness and $250,000 for autism.

Lose, the founder of Rock the Boat for Autism, a non-profit organization created to accomplish this goal, is a summer lifeguard in Wildwood, N.J. where he was trained in running, rowing and swimming. He said rowing started off as just a part of the job, but turned in to a hobby.

"We love rowing," Lose said. "I just thought that if we row this much and like it, we should do it for a good cause."

They chose autism, the fastest-growing developmental disability in the world, according to the Autism Society of America's Web site. The day after he decided to row the long distance for a cause, Lose was patrolling the beach and there were four instances in which he had to ask a child to obey beach rules. He found out each child had autism.

"I had never dealt with that disability before," he said. "When I interacted with four in one day it was just like, 'Okay, this is what we're rowing for.' "

From there, Lose went about obtaining official nonprofit status. He said all it took was a little paperwork. After that, Lose said a few friends wanted to help and the project took off.

"One friend offered to make a logo, so I said sure," he said. "Another one wanted to make a press kit, so that happened and it just became a group effort."

Senior Sara Manning, logistics manager for Rock the Boat for Autism, said Lose is completely the founder of the organization and that she just tags along.

"He told me about the idea and at the time I thought it was a little far-fetched," Manning said. "But, once we got cleared to have an actual, real non-profit organization, I realized it was the real deal and decided to jump on board."

Manning is in charge of finding hotels for the rowers to stay in, getting them food supplies and scheduling their rowing itinerary. The rowers are scheduled to depart on June 13 and will be welcomed in New Jersey with a beach party on Aug. 1. They will be rowing an average of 35 miles per day, taking into account an average of one day per week of not rowing due to bad weather, she said. That means that the rowers will spend about eight or nine hours each day rowing with a few shorts breaks to eat a peanut butter sandwich to get some instant protein.

To prepare for the physically demanding journey, Lose works out on an erg [rowing] machine.

"It's about having lasting endurance, not about muscle," Lose said.

Junior Melissa Rowland handles some of the finances for Rock the Boat for Autism. She said she got involved with Rock the Boat for Autism because her older brother has autism.

"I have seen firsthand how these organizations and nonprofits have helped and the services they provide," Rowland said. "They can really impact a family."

One of Rock the Boat for Autism's main goals, as stated on its Web site, is to help all those that are affected by autism.

"While the research currently being conducted on autism is making progress, we are still many miles away from where we need to be," the Web site states. "It is our sincere hope that the generous donations you make will help narrow the gap between where we are now and where we need to be to find the cause and more efficient treatments for autism."

Manning said the whole experience has been rewarding.

"It's been really cool to be able to see how this plan evolved from beginning to now," she said. "It really has come through."

Rowland said her main goal is to raise a lot of awareness due to the amount of people that stare at children with autism and do not know how to act around them or toward them.

"I think a lot of people push them aside and don't think they are an important part of society, and that is definitely not true," she said. "They have goals, personalities and desires just like us. We are equals."

Rock the Boat will be holding several fundraisers this month on Main Street at places such as California Tortilla on May 14 and Klondike Kate's on May 18 to benefit the cause.

"We're not just doing this to raise awareness, but also acceptance," Rowland said. "I think at this point, acceptance is the cure."

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