Eddie and Lisa Guardado are from Tustin, California. Eddie Guardado is a retired major league baseball player. Inspired by their daugther Ava who has autism, Eddie and Lisa Guardado founded The Eddie Guardado Foundation in 2008, which in 2011 joined with ACT Today. Eddie and Lisa Guardado are Autism Lights because of their advocacy for autism and for starting a charitable foundation that allows them to help give back to other autism families with financial needs.
Major League Baseball Career: Eddie Guaradado was known as "Everyday Eddie" as a relief pitcher in a career spanning from 1993-2009. Eddie played in 908 games, and only 21 other pitchers have played in more games (Source). The complete career statistics for Eddie Guardado may be viewed on his page at Baseball Reference. The following is an interview Eddie Guardado had on baseball and his passion for autism.
The Eddie Guardado Foundation: The Eddie Guardado Foundation has a special emphasis on helping families who struggle with the financial load of autism. You can find out more about their services at their website at www.eddieguardadofoundation.org. Their website says,
Lisa and Eddie understand the emotional and financial hardships families impacted with autism experience and founded the Eddie Guardado Foundation to help other families receive access to therapy and treatments that they could not otherwise afford (Source).One of the main fundraising projects The Eddie Guardado Foundation sponsors is called Stars and Strikes Celibrity Bowl, which this year was held on January 29, 2012 at the Bowlmor Lanes in Tustin, California. Here is a video of the event.
In 2011, a $27,000 grant to ACT Today from the Eddie Guardado Foundation allowed iPads to be purchased for 45 children with autism (Source).
ACT Today: ACT Today has a very diverse outreach that is not new to the Autism Light blog. Autism Light #82 was ACT Today for Military Families. The Eddie Guardado Foundation has chosen a fine autism organization to partner with that is meeting needs of people with autism. The Eddie Guardado Foundation website says, "In January 2011, The Eddie Guardado Foundation merged with ACT Today!, (Autism Care and Treatment Today!) as both non-profits share the mission of providing awareness of and access to effective therapies for children with autism (Source)."
The following is a video where Eddie Guardado talks about the relationship between his foundation and ACT Today.
Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.
Photo: The photo of Eddie Guardado is in the Creative Commons of Wikipedia. It is attributed to Keith Allison.
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