A Chinese superstar visited Canada this week to bring gifts and greetings to members of the Pacific Autism Family Network in Richmond.
On Tuesday, the Pacific Autism Family Network building was engulfed in laughter, as children ran around the glowing Christmas tree, while others waited in line to accept gifts from Baoliang Sha, a well-known Chinese singer and professional equestrian.
Sha told the Richmond News he has been working as an advocate for kids with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) over the past few years in China.
Now he aims to spread his message around the world by helping local families with autistic children.
“After visiting lots of autism support networks in China, I found that most kids with ASD are super-talented, many of them are natural-born artists,” said Sha.
Sha also set up a horseback riding business in China to provide autistic children with equine-assisted therapy.
“I hope to see more people with autism reaching their full potential and living their lives to the fullest.”
The event was made possible with the support from Canada Youth Sports Alliance (CYSA), a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting sports and charity work.
“Many people are unaware of the costs associated with raising a child with autism, parents with autistic children shouldn’t be left alone,” said Frank Wu, president of CYSA.
Dozens of local donors came together in early December after Wu put out a call on social media for people to bring presents for autistic kids.
Meanwhile, he reached out to Sha to ask if he was interested in becoming their event ambassador.
“To my surprise, he said ‘of course’ right away,” Wu said with excitement.
Wu added that a big fan of Sha donated 30 teddy bears after hearing of Sha’s involvement.
“It’s like a snowball effect — the further we are rolled, the more support we gain,” said Wu.
