When sophomore Glynis Williams decided to throw a party for her sixteenth birthday, she didn’t ask for a car, clothes, or any other lavish gifts. Instead, she asked guests to donate to the Ted Lindsay Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising money for research on autism.
“My little brother was diagnosed with autism,” Williams said. “It was really hard for my parents to go through. Anything that can help anybody else who went through the same thing or even worse than we did I want to help.”Williams first heard about the Ted Lindsay Foundation through her mother’s friend, and she became determined to help.
“Kids should be able to live a happy life by themselves and be able to support themselves and not have to rely on other people,” Williams said.
The Ted Lindsay Foundation was created in 2001 by former Red Wings Ted Lindsay and his friend John Czarnecki. Lindsay told The Highlander that he was inspired by Czarnecki’s son, who was diagnosed with autism.
“One day we were talking and John said that Dominic, his son, had autism, and [he asked] ‘What can we do about that?’ And I said ‘Well, we can raise money.’” Lindsay said.
The main purpose of the foundation is to raise money for various research projects that look into the causes of autism and potential cures. They also fund various training and educational programs for autistic children.
“We’ve been lucky all of our life and we want to do something for people who are less fortunate,” Lindsay said.
He said that since the foundation is nonprofit, no one gets paid.
“We’re not unique, we’re just honest, hardworking people that go to work every week,” Lindsay said. “… Everybody volunteers, nobody gets paid.”
There are various different fundraisers put on by the foundation. One such event is an annual golf outing involving current Detroit Red Wings players, which has proven to be very beneficial.
“We’ve raised close to a million and a half dollars in these ten years,” Lindsay said.
Williams managed to raise $1500 from her party, which she said was a pleasant surprise.
“I wasn’t expecting to make that much,” Williams said. “I was ecstatic over how much we made.”
Williams also got the opportunity to meet Lindsay before her party.
“My mom e-mailed through [his] website and notified that I was going to be raising money and he invited me to come down and talk to him,” Williams said.
Since the party, Williams has raised her total amount of money to $1600, and she doesn’t plan on stopping there. In fact, she plans to start a club at Seaholm to raise money for the foundation.
She stresses that the club won’t require a huge time commitment from students, and participants will get community service hours. Most importantly, all proceeds will benefit autism research.
“I just want to do what I can to help the foundation and help autistic kids and to raise money for research, because every little bit counts,” Williams said.
