Walk for Autism - Virginia

Join us on Saturday, October 8, 2016 for the 12th Annual Walk for Autism-Virginia!!!

Our Walk for Autism-Virginia is more than just a Walk - it's a fun time for the the entire family! Join other families for the resource fair, silent auction, music, children's train, moon bounce, sensory friendly carnival, and so much more!

Since the Walk for Autism-Virginia began, we have raised over half a million dollars that has been returned to the community in the form of education, advocacy and support for local families.  Hundreds of families throughout Northern Virginia have benefited from the generosity of our many donors and supporters.  We celebrate them as we look forward to taking our event to even greater heights!

See the FAQ for additional information on setting up your fundraising page and team.

We are also conducting a contest to pick the design for this year's t-shirt - find additional information below!

Help us raise awareness and acceptance for those on the autism spectrum!

Join us for the fun!
Join us for the community!
Join us to help the 1 in 68 now affected by autism!

We are currently accepting event sponsors and exhibitors for our resource fair.  Please contact Barbara Wagner, Walk Coordinator at [email protected] for details and registration information. 

FAQ

We're so glad you'll be joining us for the 12th Annual Walk for Autism-Virginia!  Please read the FAQs and How-to's below, and let us know if you have any other questions!  Contact Barbara Wagner, Walk Coordinator with any questions - (703)859-0030 or [email protected]

Do I need to register to participate?

Everyone who will be participating in the Walk or our timed 5K Run must register. 

Runners can only register as individuals. 

Walkers can register as individuals or as a family of up to 5 people, where a family is defined as parents and their children. 

There is no team registration - participants who are part of a team must register either as individual walkers or runners, or as a family of walkers.  Participants can request their registration fee count toward a team’s fundraising goal - doing this will make them part of that team.

 

What is a team?

Creating a team is a great way to experience the Walk for Autism-Virginia!

A team can be a group of friends, extended family, a school community, an organizaion or business. 

The registration software we are using (RunSignUp) considers a team a group of fundraisers (each with their own fundraising page).  It allows the establishment of either individual or team fundraising pages.

For our purposes, a team is set up by the establishment of a fundraising page, either Individual or Team.  You can set up an individual fundraising page and still give it a name like “Wagner Team” and still have “your team” register under that page or make donations to that page.  After you’ve set up the fundraising page, you can let others know about it and their registration fees can be counted towards the fundraising goal, as can donations from others who are not able to attend.  Setting up the fundraising page does not automatically register you for the Walk or Run.

 

How do I create a fundraising page?

If you would like to raise funds in addition to your registration fee or create a team, you can establish a fundraising page! 

If you just want to have friends, family or colleagues donate to your page or have their registration fees count toward your fundraising goal and not have them create their own fundraising pages, you can set up an Individual Fundraising Page.  This can still be considered “Your Team”.

If you think your friends, family or colleagues would like to establish their own fundraising pages under your page, set up a Team Fundraising Page.

1.  Click on Become a Fundraiser on the left side of the screen.

2.  Complete the form by choosing your page or team name (if it's an Individual page, you can still pick a name like "Wagner Team"), your fundraising goal, and a URL, if you don't want the system to determine it.  Personalize what you want your page to say about you, your team, or organization, and upload a picture that reflects you.

3.  If you want to set up a Team Fundraising Page (remember this allows others to set up sub-pages under yours), complete the section at bottom by first clicking on New Fundraising Team, then choosing your Team Page name and team fundraising goal.  You will also be able to personalize wording on the page.  If you are setting up a Team Fundraising Page, you must also set up the first Individual Fundraising Page under it (#2 above) and the name of the individual page and the team page must be different.

4.  If you've set up an Individual Page (#2 above) and want to join an already established Team Fundraising Page, choose it from the drop down list in the bottom section. 

5. Click the "Set Up Fundraiser" button at the bottom of the page.  Whether you are creating an Individual or a Team fundraising page, you must click the “Set Up Fundraiser” button.

 

NOTE***

After you set up a fundraising page (team), WE must go in and manually add your page or team name to the list that registrants can choose from (see following question) – RunSignUp does not automatically do this for us.  This will be done on a daily basis, so you should set up the fundraising page, then wait until the following day to actually register so your fundraising page name appears in the list of options your fee can count toward.  Once your page/team name is added to the list, you can spread the word to you friends, family, co-workers, etc that they can register and have their fee count toward your fundraising goal. 

 

Do registration fees count towards my team total?

Yes, but they may not show up right away.  During the registration process, participants will be asked if they want their registration fee to count toward a team.  A drop down menu will provide a list of teams they can choose from.  After the registration is completed, we have to go in and actually apply the fee to the team total.  This will be done on a daily basis.

If you have a question or think something is missing, please email [email protected]

 

How do I register for either the Walk or the 5K Run?

To register for either the Walk or the Run, click on the SignUp button and complete the registration information.  You will able to register more than one person and for each person you will be able to choose a t-shirt size and choose what team or fundraising page (if any) you’d like your registration fee to count toward.

How much money do I have to raise? 

There is NO fundraising minimum, so set your goal to whatever you feel comfortable with! Some teams raise less than $50 and some have raised more than $3,000!

 

Are there prizes?

YES!  Prizes will be announced soon, but we usually award prizes for the team that raises the most money, the biggest team, and the team with the best team spirit!

 

If I'm asking people to donate, should I send them to my individual page or my team's page?

Unless you and your team members are competing against each other to raise the most money for the team, we recommend that you just send everyone to your team's page. Usually teams find it simpler to have it all in one place. If someone does donate to an individual page, that donation amount WILL be counted in the team's total. 

 

I still can't figure this out. Who should I contact?

If you have questions about the registration or team set-up process, please email Barbara Wagner at [email protected]

 

Past Events

See what it's like to participate in the Walk for Autism-Virginia.