PHOENIX (March 9, 2014) - On Friday more than 50 people found their way to the roof of the Hyatt Regency Phoenix, climbed on the ledge and rappelled down 23 stories as part of Over the Edge with Autism Speaks, all in support of the autism community.
[slideshow:2, order=top, width=585, height=370, img=|http://www.autismspeaks.org/sites/default/files/images/baxter-and-lou-seal-at-the-top-2.jpg|||Baxter and Lou Seal at the top of the Hyatt Regency getting ready to start ||, img=|http://www.autismspeaks.org/sites/default/files/images/deckers-getting-ready-for-mid-air-kiss_0.jpg|||Nate and Roechelle Decker during their descent||, img=|http://www.autismspeaks.org/sites/default/files/images/jax-encouraging-his-babysitter.jpg|||Jax encouraging his babysitter||]
The morning started off with Lady La, Baxter of the Arizona Diamondbacks & Lou Seal from the SF Giants. Throughout the day numerous “edgers” including six day-of participants, five teachers from Pieceful Solutions, two husband/wife teams, a Storm Trooper and an adult with autism took their turn.
"I wasn’t going to move over to him, so thank goodness he made it to me!" exclaimed Rochelle Decker, speaking of the mid-air kiss that took place while she and her husband Nate were rappelling down.
It was a fun-filled day as sponsors/vendors including Cracker Jack, Arizona Diamondbacks, BADASS Dash, and Joe’s Crab Shack set up on Adams Street while supporters gathered to cheer on those who were brave enough to take a leap of faith for a good cause. The Hyatt offered a grilled lunch and business people around the area had a retreat from their work day. It truly was a festive Street Fair for the city.
Looks of fear and uncertainty at the top quickly turned to smiles and excitement for a great accomplishment.
Thanks to everyone involved, Autism Speaks was able to raise almost $60,000!
Donations are still being accepted. To find out more about the event, read More Than 23 Stories from our campaign and learn how you can make a donation, visit http://events.autismspeaks.org/OverTheEdgeAZ.
Watch the video below as Lady La of LIVE 101.5 (KZON-FM CBS Radio Phoenix) shares her experience.
