The Third Annual “An Evening with Dave Rice” event, which
was held Saturday, May 17 at the MGM Grand, was a tremendous success, raising money
and awareness for the Dave Rice
Foundation’s fight against Autism.
Highlighting the
event was special guest host, late night TV personality and Dave Rice
Foundation board member, Jimmy Kimmel.
Also in attendance were Jimmy’s longtime friends and his famous Aunt Chippy. Kimmel,
who generously donated his time to be on hand in Las Vegas, charmed attendees with
his trademark wit and humor, while also leading the charge in generosity. At
one point during the live auction, Kimmel bid $10,000 to take home a self-portrait,
created by performance speed painter, Tim
Decker.
“Certainly for Jimmy to be here
and take time out of his busy schedule to be part of this is something that’s
exciting for us,” said Foundation chairman and UNLV Runnin’ Rebels head
basketball coach, Dave Rice.
“What the Dave Rice
Foundation is doing for families in
southern Nevada affected by Autism is immeasurable,” said Kimmel. “As a Las
Vegas native, and with a family member on the Autism spectrum, I am proud to
assist Coach Rice in these meaningful efforts.”
In addition to the Kimmel
painting, Decker delighted the 400-plus guests with speed paintings of
Frank Sinatra and the Statue of Liberty.
“It’s been tremendous for Mindy
and me because it’s a cause that’s not only important to us on the surface, but
it’s extremely important to us personally with our son Dylan being on the Autism spectrum,” Rice told
the Las Vegas Sun’s Taylor Bern.
The story of a child affected by
Autism is one that’s all too familiar to the Rice family. It was just six years
ago that Dave and Mindy received the news their son Dylan had been diagnosed with the condition.
Naturally, the news prompted
plenty of questions … What is Autism? How do you treat it? What does this mean
for our son’s future? Unfortunately, the family found it difficult to acquire
answers.
“Going back, I wish our doctor
could have given me a name, a phone number, a pamphlet, anything that would be
a road map that would give us a starting point to what came next on the journey
through Autism,” said Mindy Rice, secretary
and treasurer of the Foundation.
Fast forward to 2014
and Dylan, now 11-years-old, is doing very well. So well, in fact, that he
actually took the stage with friend Daniel Allen (son of board member D.J. Allen) to address the crowd and help
introduce Kimmel at the event. But while Dylan’s progress has been tremendous,
it didn’t cause Dave and Mindy to forget about the struggles of getting to that
point. Those were the memories that led them to start the Dave Rice Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the
education and support of health initiatives including developmental disorders
such as Autism.
Unfortunately, Dylan’s story is
not uncommon. At age two, Mindy noticed his speech was not developing properly.
She would spend the next three years searching for answers from various doctors
before finally receiving a diagnosis at age five. In retrospect, these were
three valuable years that could have been used for treatment and/or therapy.
Children diagnosed with Autism can benefit greatly from early detection and the
Rice family stresses that parents seek help immediately if they believe
something might be wrong.
For more information on the Dave
Rice Foundation or “An Evening with Dave Rice,” visit www.DaveRiceFoundation.org.
ABOUT THE DAVE RICE
FOUNDATION
The Dave Rice Foundation is a non-profit, tax exempt organization
dedicated to the education and support of health initiatives including
developmental disorders such as Autism, and other charitable causes. The
Foundation was established in 2012 by UNLV Runnin' Rebels Head Basketball Coach
Dave Rice and his wife Mindy.
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