Ernie and Liezl Els

Autism Lights #66 are Ernie and Liezl Els.
A Backlight Encore!
Original Post: October 13, 2011.

Ernie and Liezl Els have a son named Ben who has autism. Ernie Els was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. Ernie and Liezl currently live in Jupiter, Florida.  They also have lived in London, England. Ernie and Liezl Els are Autism Lights because of their establishment of the Els for Autism Foundation and their ongoing advocacy for autism.

Ernie is a professional golfer who is known as the "Big Easy".  In 1986, Ernie Els was the youngest player to win the South African Amateur. There is now a Ernie Els SA Primary School Championship.  His career has been marked with consistent excellence. In 2011 he was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame. Ernie Els' PGA tour page lists his current career statistics.

2012 British Open Win:  On July 22, 2012, Ernie Els won the British Open. The Golf Channel.com said, "Remarkably, Els now has won majors in three decades, and it is his fourth major championship overall. He moved to No. 15 in the Official World Golf Ranking(Source)."

ESPNmedia Video: The following ESPNmedia video tells the story of Ernie Els and his family's story of autism, which they call "A Father's Love".

Els for Autism Foundation:  In 2009 Ernie and Liezl Els formed the Els for Autism Foundation to make a difference for autism. The Els For Autism Foundation is currently on a mission to raise $30 million to complete The Center for Excellence. According to their website, the following is the vision for The Center of Excellence:

It will focus on a global digital learning platform that will give children on the spectrum around the world access to best practices in education and therapy. It will also connect the international autism community with best practices and the latest information and research. The first of its kind Center will also have an on-site education facility, medical and professional services, research and transition to adulthood.

The Els gave $6 million of their own money towards the campaign and are also working hard to raise the remaining need.

The following is a PGA Tour video about Ernie Els' fundraising cause. Ernie Els concludes the video by saying, "We have to believe that anything is possible. That it is possible to find a cure and we will find a way of a better life for kids and families living with autism. I don't know if one day I'm going to be remembered as a golfer or a guy that's actually taken autism to the public, and I like the later."








Els for Autism Golf Challenge:  One of the primary ways money is raised for the Els for Autism Foundation is through the Els for Autism Golf Challenge. The challenge consists of 30 regional events with the finals for this year's event to be held October 19-20, 2012 in LasVegas, Nevada. The event has become the world's largest charity golf tournament.

Els for Autism Mountain Climbing:  Liezl and her daughter Samantha climbed Killimanjaro (the largest mountain in Africa) to raise money for the Els for Autism Foundation.  A blog on their efforts is at this link.

Autism Speaks Public Service Announcement:  The following PSA from Autism Speaks features Ernie Els.

For more information about Ernie Els visit these websites.

• Ernie Els Wikipedia Page
• Els Foundation for Autism Website

You can also follow Ernie Els on this Social Media.

• Twitter
• Facebook
• YouTube (Ernie Els channel generated by YouTube)

Special thanks to Ernie and Liezl Els for being Autism Lights and responding to your son Ben's diagnosis of autism by creating an autism foundation that can benefit thousands of children around the world.

Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.

Photo: The Photo of Ernie Els is in the Creative Commons of Wikipedia and is attributed to SD Dirk.

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This Autism Light post went into syndication at Autisable.

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Dillon Howard

Autism Light #34 is Dillon Howard.

Dillon Howard is 19 and from Searcy, Arkansas. Dillon Howard is a very talented baseball player. In his last year of high school baseball he posted a 9-1 record with a 0.31 ERA. Recently Dillon signed a professional contract with the Cleveland Indians that included a $1.85 million signing bonus after being drafted in the 2nd round of the 2011 Major League Baseball draft. Baseball-Reference.com has set up a statistics page for him.

The Indians Minor League Magazine did a Focus on the Future feature on Dillon Howard's signing on August 30, 2011. Below is the YouTube video of the feature on Dillon Howard.

In honor of his brother Ben who has autism, Dillon has decided to give a portion of his signing bonus to an autism charity in the area.  He selected the Milestones Autism Organization in Beachwood, Ohio near Cleveland to receive his generous donation. The organization lists their mission on their website as "to promote life-long strategies of success for individuals with autism, from childhood through adulthood." You can follow this autism charitable organization on their Facebook page.

Dillon Howard is an Autism Light for his generosity to an autism charity in honor of his brother. We look forward to hearing about great success from Dillon Howard in his career as a baseball pitcher. For more information read articles on Dillon's family and this donation which were written by Stephanie Storm of the Akron Beacon Journal and by Zack Meisel of MLB.com. Thank you Dillon Howard for being an Autism Light.

If you liked this post you may wish to read other Autism Light posts about siblings of people with autism. They have the label of sibling on them. 

Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism. 

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Toys "R" Us

Autism Light #8 is Toys "R" Us.

Toys "R" Us (NYSE: TOY) is a corporation with headquarters in New Jersey.  They specialize in children's goods and are both Autism Speaks donors and distributors of autism friendly products.

Supporter:  Toys "R" Us generously raised over $3 million dollars during this year's campaign for the benefit of Autism Speaks. This is the continuation of a National Partnership with Autism Speaks that began in 2007.

The following is a video for the "Be a Hero" campaign that promoted the message that the real heroes of autism are benefactors and researchers and also those with autism, their family, teachers, and care providers.  It features the musical skills of Jodi, a girl with autism.

Autism Friendly Toys: One of the other ways Toys "R" Us help with autism is they publish a Differently-Abled Toy Guide that helps select toys that may be meaningful for children with autism. In addition, Toys "R" Us has obtained exclusive rights to sell the Keepon, a toy to help with autism therapy.  See this video on Keepon. 

Social Media: You can follow Toys "R" Us on the following social media. 

• Twitter
• Facebook

Special thanks to Toy "R" Us for being an Autism Light through their giving and autism friendly product designs. They are making a difference for autism year round. 

Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism. 

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