Students Blow Bubbles for Autism Awareness

A group of students held an event called Blow Bubbles 4 Autism at William Paterson University Friday morning to raise awareness about the disease.

"We want people to know about this disease, which there is no cure for," Walls said. "No one knows why someone gets it and someone else doesn't."

The event was first held in South Jersey in 2003. It is designed to raise money for the Families for Autistic Children, Education, and Support, a non-profit organization that supports families with Autistic children.

The students initially conceived of the idea for a sociology project. They had to find a social cause that interested them and figure a way to educate the public about it. The students raised more than $300 for FACES; the group held other fundraisers earlier this month. 

"More kids this year will be diagnosed with Autism than will be diagnosed with cancer, diabetes, and AIDS combined," said student Andrea Recinos. "We not only have to find a cure for this disease, but we have to know what causes it."

FACES held the event at other colleges throughout the United States. The group attempted to hold the world record for most people blowing bubbles at the same time in various locations.

"If we could hold the world record, that'd be great," said Isabelle Marks-Mosca, director of FACES. "But it is the reason behind why we did that matters."