Autism Serves Kids Care Club Information

You will find on this page important information that should take care of most of your questions. If you need any other help, please feel free to reach out to us at kidscareclub@autismempowerment.org

This club was created to support youth on the autism spectrum 2nd – 12th grade. Siblings and peer mentors are also welcome to participate. Your child does not have to have an official autism diagnosis to participate.

 Yes – There is limited space and will be a first come, first served basis in order of when applications have been turned in. We usually have about 20 youth participate each season with an average of 8 – 12 at each meeting. We have some families who don’t attend monthly meetings but bring youth for periodic volunteering (e.g. Walk & Knock, holiday caroling, park clean-up) in the community. We are here to work with you!

 Yes, either a parent or a responsible caregiver or adult (18+) that knows your child will need to stay. Part of the fun of our Kids Care Club is having the opportunity for kids and parents to volunteer together and bond with other families. There will be children in the group between ages 7 – 18 with different ability ranges. Although we will have volunteers on-hand to help and support your child, we know that as a parent or caregiver, you know your child better than we do. If your child needs a break, a hug or extra guidance with a challenge, you can be there to provide that support.  Families that have more than one child only need one parent / caregiver present but if additional family wants to come, that is fine too!

Each Autism Serves Kids Care Club season will run from September to June. The meeting time is typically the second Sunday of each month from 2 – 4 pm. We currently have a tentative schedule of activities and dates that can be accessed by emailing us at kidscareclub@autismempowerment.org. 

Please note that as of 3/10/2020 – ALL further March & April events have been canceled due to concerns and risks with COVID-19 

For the 2018-19 season, Autism Serves Kids Care Club hosts our monthly meetings at Stephen’s Place, 501 SE Ellsworth Road, Vancouver, WA 98664. Special projects are held at different locations out in the community. For times and more details, please join our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/autismserveskidscareclub/ or email John Krejcha at kidscareclub@autismempowerment.org with questions.

Autism Serves Kids Care Club meeting dates and themes alone with some groups or organizations we anticipate working with.

A few of the local places Autism Serves Kids Care Club members have partnered with and supported include:

• Area Agency on Aging and Disability
• Clark County Food Bank
• Clark County Veterans Assistance Center
• Fort Vancouver Regional Library Association
• Humane Society of Southwest Washington
• Local places of worship
• Share House
• Stephen’s Place
• Vancouver Parks and Recreation
• Walk and Knock for Clark County Food Banks

In addition to monthly club meetings, we offer the opportunity for your children to volunteer throughout the month at home, outside in the community or as part of another service group (e.g. scouts, faith-based group, 4-H, etc.)

We have a special tracking sheet that you can use to track your hours. For service hours that you complete at club meetings or club activities, simply record the hours on the tracking sheet. For service hours you complete outside of the club (e.g. scouting, faith-based, school, 4-H), please record the activity and have an adult supervisor sign to verify your hours.

There is a small fee of $30 per youth or $50 per family and that helps cover costs for the season. Fees help cover the cost of a t-shirt for the youth, supplies for monthly club service projects and youth recognition. There is no fee for parents or adult volunteers. Donations of course are always welcome. Additional shirts are available for $10 apiece.

We don’t want anybody to be turned away because of the cost so we do have need-based scholarships available.

Please contact kidscareclub@autismempowerment.org for application information and to see if we still have spots left for this season.

We are always looking for responsible teens and adult volunteers to help out with the Autism Serves Kids Care Club and other Autism Empowerment projects. Please check out the volunteering page. There is no cost to volunteer and we will do our best to supply you with what you need to be successful.

There are many ways to stay connected. One way is that we will have a closed Facebook group for parents, club members and volunteers to learn about upcoming volunteer opportunities, share projects and learn about issues important within our world.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/autismserveskidscareclub/