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Kenisons named ‘Hometown Heroes’ by Red Cross

Date: 3/26/2015

EAST LONGMEADOW – Radcliffe and Gina Kenison were honored with the 2015 “Hometown Heroes” award by the Red Cross for more than a decade of work helping families with autistic children like themselves.

Radcliffe told Reminder Publications the reason for their involvement are their two sons, both of whom were diagnosed with nonverbal autism at early ages. Their oldest son, also named Radcliffe, is 14 years old and their youngest son Arthur is 12.

“I think the inspiration to start fundraising in the very beginning was, you know, we had the two boys,” Gina said. “The boys were really young, maybe one or three, when we were first going at it. You feel that you want to do something, but you just don’t know what. It was like a snowball effect.

“You can’t fix your kids, but this was a way to help everybody” she continued.   

Gina said she almost has “a silent language” with her sons similar to method of comprehending the needs of infants after birth. Both her sons can understand language but cannot verbalize what their needs are.  

“The instinct stays fresh all the time because if there’s something wrong [they’ll need me],” she added. “And the kids know it.”

Radcliffe, a police dispatcher in Hampden, said he and Gina created a nonprofit organization called “Radcliffe is the Reason and Arthur Too! Fight for Autism,’ which was designed to help other families with autistic children.

Gina said the nonprofit has helped families in local communities through school systems such as East Longmeadow, Westfield, Hampden, and Enfield, CT.

“Every day there’s not a minute that goes by that we know why we’re fundraising,” she added.

The nonprofit raises money for families, but also donates their time helping as a “community resource” for autism, she added. The group has also donated Thanksgiving meals to families and worked with other organizations such as Autism Speaks and the Special Olympics.

For years, they were the top fundraisers for Autism Speaks in Western Massachusetts, but later decided to start their own nonprofit organization “to try to keep it more local,” Radcliffe said.

During the past nine years, the nonprofit has organized a golf tournament and dinner fundraiser, he added. This year’s event is scheduled for June 12 at the Oak Ridge Golf Club in Feeding Hills.

“We fight for autism,” Radcliffe said. “We’re fighting for awareness [and] acceptance, so these other kids that are on the spectrum in some form, so their life can be a little bit better.”

For more information visit about the Kenison family and their nonprofit organization visit www.facebook.com/pages/Radcliffe-is-the-Reason-and-Arthur-Too-Fight-for-Autism/123321991074371.