NEW YORK, USA- Autism Speaks, the world's leading autism science and advocacy organization, today announced a series of digital, mobile and technology initiatives involving a range of corporate and philanthropic partners that will take place throughout Autism Awareness Month in April as part of its global Light It Up Blue awareness campaign.
Autism Speaks is also leveraging its online community of more than 3 million Facebook fans, Twitter followers and e-mail subscribers to create a groundswell of activity on its flagship Light It Up Blue website, http://www.lightitupblue.org. The website features an interactive photo gallery, personal fundraising pages and mobile applications for both the iOS and Android platforms.
An Autism Speaks text messaging service will support the online Light It Up Blue campaign. By texting “LIUB” to 30644, users can get access to additional content, information and news. Autism Speaks has also launched a video blog, hosted by a young man on the autism spectrum, Kerry Magro. The Kerry’s Korner video blog features music by Kyle Cousins, a musician who is also on the autism spectrum.
“We are excited to announce the online component of our Light It Up Blue campaign and grateful to all of our tech and digital partners for participating throughout Autism Awareness Month,” said Marc Sirkin, vice president of social marketing and online fundraising, Autism Speaks. “Thanks to their support, our online presence will continue to grow and reach new audiences with our message of compassion and the importance of early screening for autism.”
In addition to participating in the Light It Up Blue campaign, several of Autism Speaks’ online and technology partnerships feature new resources and tools for families affected by autism. “The tech community has demonstrated a genuine commitment to addressing this growing health crisis through the development of innovative software and applications for families and individuals affected by autism,” added Sirkin. Online and technology partners include:
Microsoft has released a series of free office templates based on the Autism Speaks 100 Day Kit for families of individuals with autism. These templates can be found on the Autism Speaks partner page on Office.com. Templates include a contact form, request for information on Special Education Letter, a phone log and several other forms.
Twitter has donated an online advertising campaign to encourage the world to Tweet about Light It Up Blue via the hashtag #LIUB.
Google is participating in Light It Up Blue by lighting six of its buildings blue -- including buildings in Seoul, Los Angeles and San Francisco -- on April 2 to bring awareness to autism.
AOL is highlighting both the organization and World Autism Awareness Day by featuring Autism Speaks on AOL.com April 2nd, providing a free placement on the AOL Mail Log-in screen for a day, and spotlighting Autism Speaks on the AOL Impact site, encouraging consumers to Light It Up Blue in support of Autism Awareness.
Barnes & Noble will Light It Up Blue online by creating a special landing page at http://www.bn.com/autism and will provide an opportunity for its customers to join the campaign. The BN.com landing page will feature curated items that relate to autism.
Technology provider Blackbaud will light the fountain outside its corporate headquarters blue and will focus on autism awareness among its employees throughout the month.
Outfit7, creator of the popular Talking Friends characters and apps, will be participating in the campaign by providing free in-app Light It Up Blue virtual t-shirts for Talking Tom on both iOS and Android. Outfit7 will also donate advertising on its digital network.
CareZone, a completely private place to organize and care for loved ones, is donating free accounts ($180 value) to those challenged with autism. Parents can claim their accounts at carezone.com/autism, and share access to them on any device.
Careverge, an Audax Health digital health platform which inspires and engages consumers to be healthy with personalized tools and community, will light its homepage blue on April 2. Careverge invites members and caregivers to learn more about autism, and share support in its online autism community.
HandHold Adaptive, which makes iPrompts and AutismTrack, premier apps for autism on mobile devices, will offer its AutismTrack app for free on April 2. AutismTrack is a powerful, handheld data collection app that helps parents track medicines, diets, therapies and behaviors, and report on progress to doctors.
Lamar Digital Advertising has donated all available digital billboard space to Autism Speaks for three months, including April, to help increase participation in Light It Up Blue and the organization’s Autism Awareness Month initiatives. Digital billboards supporting Autism Speaks initiatives began running nationwide in mid-March and will continue through May 31, 2011.
The Social Express™ is an engaging, interactive software application designed for children with autism, Asperger’s, and ADHD. Its software teaches children how to think about and manage social situations through video modeling, thus enabling them to build social-emotional skills and develop the meaningful relationships they need to navigate life. The Social Express will offer a special 75% discount on April 2.
In collaboration with production company Bodega Studios, advertising agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners will be releasing a documentary, I Want to Say, that chronicles the lives of real young people with autism, in particular, their challenges and breakthroughs through the use of touch technology. The film brings awareness to the vast improvements that touch technology has made for nonverbal members of the autism community. Hacking Autism, an initiative recently adopted by Autism Speaks, aims to bring this same attention to an online community devoted to people sharing their stories of hope through emerging technologies.
