Gary Weitzen, a Brick Township father of an Autistic son, is among one hundred winners out of nearly 7,000 nominees to receive $1,000 in a national "Kernals of Kindness" contest by Jolly Time Pop Corn.   Jolly Time's grassroots program pays tribute to those who make a difference through acts of kindness in their communities.

"I was actually really thrilled about this," Weitzen said of the honor. He was recognized for bringing joy to thousands of New Jersey families with Autistic children by providing them with free recreational activities through his statewide Parents Of Autistic Children (POAC)organization based in his home town. Weitzen is POAC's Executive Director.

photo from http://www.poac.net/
photo from http://www.poac.net/
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"POAC does year-long recreational events. They're always free for the families and they always include the brothers and sisters, the siblings, of our kids on the spectrum," Weitzen said.

Every board member and employee of POAC has a relative with Autism. "We all live it," Weitzen said, "In my case it's a son." 20-year-old Christopher Weitzen attends Brick Township High School.

For more than ten years, Weitzen and POAC volunteers have made it possible for thousand of children to enjoy bowling, surfing, horseback riding, swimming, gymnastics and more through POAC  to help them be themselves and feel accepted.

POAC also is the largest provider of Autism training, education and recreation in New Jersey, according to Weitzen.

When asked how he plans to spend his prize money Weitzen replied, "I had a choice to take it or give it back to the organization." Of course, he gave it back to POAC to be well spent, "We're just going to do more recreational events for our families," he said.

 

 

 

 

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