Event featured bounce houses, rock climbing and train rides while raising funds for preschool serving children on autism spectrum
NACOGDOCHES, Texas (KTRE) – A resource center for children with autism in Nacogdoches hosted its annual Kite Fest, featuring bounce houses, rock climbing and more while supporting the organization.
For students like Ryder Maurer, this is one of his favorite events of the year.
“Pretty much most of the stuff. You have the activities, you have the food, you have the games. But my favorite is the train ride,” said Maurer, a former student at The Helping House.
Maurer was a student at The Helping House before attending Central Heights and becoming a Blue Devil.
“And then I eventually was able to go out with my autism, and I’m here now to this day,” Maurer said.
The Helping House is a non-profit located in Nacogdoches. It serves children ages 18 months to six years and has been run by Director Amanda Johnson since it opened in 2008.
“We’re a preschool for kids on the autism spectrum, and our job is to get kids ready to go to school. So, we do a lot of prerequisite skill training so that when they leave us and go to public school, they can be more successful,” Johnson said.
The Helping House has helped over 300 students since opening in 2008. This school year, 15 students are enrolled, with 26 more taking part in the summer clinic.
Jessica Hoy and Karen Garcia met through the parent support group and say their lives have been changed.
“We, my family, we’d be completely lost if it hadn’t been for the Helping House. Just the day-to-day activities, just the educational setting, just all of it’s been a huge benefit for us,” Hoy said.
“I don’t know where we would be without the Helping House. It has really impacted the progress my daughter has made, and without it, I don’t know what my family would have done,” Garcia said.
The impact of that work is clear in success stories like Ryder Maurer, now a sophomore at Central Heights High School.
“Yeah, I don’t really play, but I’m normally as a manager of the team, the men’s basketball team,” Maurer said.
According to Johnson, the Kite Fest has been going for almost 16 years. This year’s fundraising goal is $50,000, which includes sponsorships, and is one of the program’s largest fundraisers of the year.
For more information on The Helping House you can access their website here.