Community rallies around autistic surfers

[Pleasin & Teasin]

An East Hampton newspaper covers this wonderful volunteer effort by Mr. Buffett and others.
http://www.27east.com/story_detail.cfm? ... &id=167527

That night, a raucous, free-wheeling concert by Jimmy Buffett—held under tents because of pouring rain—had people singing and dancing in the aisles and batting beach balls around in the air while the good-natured Buffett had a grand time taking requests for songs shouted from the 400-plus audience. During the two hours and 20 minutes he played, Mr. Buffett sang a lot of favorites, among them: “Son of a Son of a Sailor”; “One Particular Harbor”; “Come Monday”, and his signature, “Margaritaville.”

In addition to parents and volunteers, who were admitted for free, in the audience that night were also benefactors who paid $100 for general admission tickets, and $1,000 for tickets and dinner at Second House Tavern. A silent auction also was held. More than $125,000 was raised for East End Disability Associates, Long Island Families Together and Surfers Healing.

Mr. Buffett was on the beach during the surfing event, mingling easily with the crowds and praising the parents and caretakers of autistic children. Such children have limited social and communications skills, often are unable to speak or make eye contact, and can be extremely difficult to care for. In 2007, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control reported that one in 150 children is diagnosed with autism.

“Last year, I came out and thought that this is such a great thing to do, I wanted to support it and keep it going,” Mr. Buffett said. “This is as much for the parents and the caregivers as it is for the children. It takes real courage and dedication to raise these kids. The parents don’t get the recognition they deserve. So it’s good for them to have a day off and to have a beer afterward.”

“The surfing community in Montauk is really connected to this thing, so we decided to amp it up some this year,” he said, referring to the concert. Mr. Buffett put on a smaller show, more like a jam session, at last year’s event.

Mr. Buffett said he had met the co-founder of Surfers Healing, Israel Paskowitz, at a similar surfing event in Mexico a few years back. Mr. Paskowitz, who goes by “Izzy,” founded the organization with his wife, Danielle, in 1999 after they discovered that their then 3-year-old son, Isaiah, who is autistic, had a life-changing experience when his father took him surfing.