Currently in Quincy: July 26, 2024 - Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism

[Music] [Music] hello and welcome to another edition of currently  in quiny I'm Joe Catalano today we learned about   a fundraiser that's coming up soon here in quiny  to benefit the Doug fluty Jr foundation for autism   first though we take a look at the weather and  the news for you currently in quiny we've got some   hazy sunshine 77° right now it'll be a beautiful  day today lots of sunshine nice and dry and Mild   with highs in the low 80s this afternoon little  bit of smoke in the air later on this afternoon   from the wildfires out west temperatures tonight  will drop off into the mid-60s under clear skies   and the last weekend of July looks very  nice mainly sunny tomorrow with highs in   the low 80s just a few more clouds on Sunday  still dry Sunday's highs again at the low 80s   and a little gray and damp on Monday especially  in the morning could see be some showers around   on Monday with highs in the mid 70s looks like a  big warm-up into next week so enjoy the next few   days again we have sunshine and 77 degrees in  quiny right now checking out the news for you   today a group of quinsey elected officials are  calling on the MBTA to make the Marina Bay ferry   service free while the red line is shut down in  September member Representatives Bruce aers and   tacky Chan Senator John Keenan and Ward 6 City  councilor Bill Harris have all sent a letter   to MBTA general manager Philip a requesting the  Free Ferry rides and also requesting that the tea   expand the ferry service and use a larger vessel  the red line will close between JFK mass and brain   tree from September 6th through the 29th for work  on 18 miles of track the te says the shutdown is   unprecedented but necessary in order to remove 20  slow zones and reduce travel times by at least 24   minutes the ferry operates from squantum Point  Park in quinsey with stops in the sea port at   the aquarium in Logan Airport the tea bought that  ferry service from the town of Winthrop last year   the newly formed citizens group called ajust quiny  is moving ahead with plans to mobilize residents   after recently failing to gather enough signatures  to repeal the salary increases for the mayor   and City councilors the Grassroots organization  released the results of a poll this week of 600   residents indicating support for a plan to replace  the city council in next year's city election   impose term limits on quiny elected officials  increase fiscal responsibility a residential tax   exemption and concern about a possible 99-year  lease of Granite Links to quy Hills Associates   the group also celebrated their repeal the ray  effort by gathering just over 6,000 signatures   in 3 weeks although they were falling short of  the almost 8,000 signatures required to repeal   those pay raises the quiny Community Development  Department is receiving some national recognition   for its efforts in supporting homelessness  prevention and Affordable Health Care the   department was praised by the national Community  Development Association at their annual meeting   in Cambridge also honored by the US Department  of Housing and Urban Development for supporting   father bills in main Springs new Yaky Housing  Resource Center and manic community health   center quinsey community development director  Sean Glennon accepted the honors along with   representatives from Manet Community Health Center  and father bills and mainspring along with other   members of his Department the department also won  the John Sasso National Community Development week   award for a record 12th time some students will  be receiving some special care packages full   of personal hygiene items when they return to  classes in quinsey in September this past week   members of the quiny public schools youth Works  program spent two days assorting and packing over   1100 care packages full of soaps and toothpaste  shampoo feminine hygiene products and more all   in partnership with the NM based nonprofit hope  and comfort those packages will be distributed to   students at The Snug Harbor Broad Meadows Point  Webster and Southwest Middle Schools supporters   say the kits will help those students experience  Better Health confidence and increased School   engagements it's our check of news for you today  coming up the Doug fluty Jr foundation for autism   holding a stars of the spectrum music festival  in quiny next weekend we'll learn all about it [Music] next welcome back the Doug fluty Foundation Junior  foundation for autism is holding a stars of the   spectrum music festival at Veterans Memorial  stadium in quinsey next Saturday August the   3D it's going to be a great day and we're going  to learn all about it from Elizabeth Monroe and   Stefano mcau because they going to be there  welcome to both of you thanks for coming over   thanks for having us yeah it's a pleasure good to  meet you both appreciate that and looking forward   to learning Elizabeth a little bit more about the  foundation first of all and then definitely about   this music festival be rocking the Veterans  Memorial stadium all day next Saturday right   uh so let's start first with the uh the history  about the foundation itself if we could yes so the   Doug fluty Jr foundation for autism was founded  26 years ago last year was our 25th anniversary   year our big celebration year um it was founded  by Doug and Lori fluty when their son douge Jr   was diagnosed with autism when he was three years  old um Doug actually used some of his fluty flakes   um proceeds to start the foundation and we've  been going strong for 25 years so we directly   help people and families with autism live life to  the fullest sure and how do you do that what are   what are some of the services that the foundation  provides so we provide direct financial support   to people and families with autism um through  grants and we also provide Community grants to   autism serving organizations and partners who  provide those Direct Services to the autism   Community okay and who's eligible to receive those  Services how does that connection happen yes so we   have a couple of Grants throughout the year where  people and families are um able to apply directly   on our website for direct financial support and  we also have multiple Community grants throughout   the year where these direct service feed on the  ground organizations in your community are able   to apply for Grants and funding do you have  any sense for how many people the foundation   assists on a yearly basis yes so we um thanks to  Our Community Partners and our grant organizations   we touch the lives of around 10,000 people and  families with OP every year no we're actually   Nationwide now so we are very active in Florida  which is where the flues currently live and we're   kind of all over we have a huge um fluty 5K  for autism movement as well besides our music   Endeavors we host fluty 5Ks across the country  and we do make an impact Nationwide now very   good so that's uh you've gone International  but you're based here in Massachusetts right   right in Framingham um and have you seen you know  progress over the past 25 years in the way autism   is approached say from Society and also from the  Healthcare Community oh definitely there's just   been so much more awareness that's been built when  dougy Jr was first diagnosed the whole reason that   Doug and Lori started the foundation was because  no one knew how to treat autism it was a brand   new diagnosis and now there's again much more  awareness and it really is a testament to where   we are today with our event stars of the spectrum  these people they're ready to take the stage to   show you what people with Autism what they can  do they're ready to share their stories and their   voices and talents with the world as a matter  of fact you've brought one of the stars with you   today in the form of Stephano Stephano thanks for  coming appreciate the opportunity to meet you and   learn your story my pleasure yeah so you are one  of the Stars so you you were musically inclined   yes I sure am musically inclined okay I sing and  play piano and guitar as well okay and you'll be   performing at the festival that's right I'll also  be the honorary musical MC oh really okay so what   is it about music that that uh energizes you you  know that that makes you happy I've always loved   to sing and do music since I was a kid like when  I was one when I was a toddler I always loved   listening to What's Love Got to Do With It by Tina  Turner very good taste it's a beautiful song yeah   and I listen to more and more songs as time went  on okay is there music in your family or other   other members of The Family Music inclines well my  uncle used to make compilation CDs oh really okay   I understand you're going to school specifically  for music is that right I attended there actually   I went to Bunker Hill Community College and got  an associates degree in music oh okay very good   what do you hope to do in the future with that  degree well I still want to perform anywhere I go   okay including at the festival right of course  yeah so what exactly will you be doing this is   uh we should tell folks it's Saturday August 3rd  uh 2 p.m. at Veterans Memorial stadium so what's   your role uh at the festival I will be an honorary  musical MC as well as singing in spectrum of sound   oh okay what are you going be singing we're going  to sing songs like what we're made for we're going   to sing like some mashups we're going to sing a  special version of lean on me with Faith Evans   too really so what type of music and will there be  bands to go along with this as well yes the Doug   fluty Bros band oh very good is it actually Doug  fluty Brothers well oh yeah oh it is it is okay   so the big question Elizabeth Stefano will Doug  fluty be at the festival of course oh he will yes   he will he's part of the fluty Brothers Band he'll  be drumming with spectrum of sound our inclusive   choir of autism self Advocates they play a Boston  mash up that you don't want to miss so he'll be   drumming for that um and yes he attends our shows  every year with Lori fluty oh really okay so I   just want to read kind of the subtitle of of  the festival because it really it it's pretty   self-descriptive as to what you're trying to do  uh join us for the nation's largest Music Festival   by autistic artists that alone is a pretty bold  statement is that is that true yes so we will have   nearly 100 people with autism taking the stage  to either perform or be an MC really okay uh and   celebrate and Elevate voices and stories of people  with Autism so how will you do that how will the   festival do that yes so we work with nearly 100  autistic talented artists from across the nation   and they are here to share their music with the  world they've been practicing really hard and   they're really really talented so whether you've  heard of them or not you should come to enjoy this   fun day of Music we have special guests including  autistic performer from American Idol Aiden Boer   um we have a sibling Duo from Florida Jake and Sky  Jake Velasquez was on America's Got Talent uh we   also have some very special guests and Headliners  who will be collaborating with autistic artists so   we have nationally acclaimed pop funk band couch  who originated in Boston they'll be joining and   collaborating with autistic artists as well as Sam  James a singer songwriter who I believe is from   Worcester Massachusetts he'll be collaborating  and then we have the winner the first autistic   winner of America's Got Talent Cody Lee flying  in from California he has a set with his band as   well so should be fun yeah about how many folks  are you expecting to attend oh um so right now   we're creeping in on like 7,000 people attending  so it should be pretty big and we're so grateful   for the city of quinsey and the free Jacks for  letting us be at in quiny last year we were at   Fenway Park this year is bigger and better than  ever we we expanded from Fenway you've moved   on up right yes um also it says the festival  is sensory inclusive so everyone in big bold   letters can enjoy the live music and Mission  Centric vendors and Artisans so explain that   if you could so we are very proud to partner with  one of our organizations autism Alliance to make   the whole festival sensory inclusive so while  it still will be a music festival at its core   there will still be loud music music throughout  the day we're offering accommodations so that   people and families are able to bring their loved  ones with autism and they can have a fun time   so we have indoor sensory spaces underneath the  bleachers that are air conditioned and quiet in   case someone needs to go and relax we have outdoor  sensory spaces we have Bubble zones um all of our   volunteers are trained so they will know that this  is a concert for people with Autism and we have um   sensory item giveaways as well so we're giving  away fidget toys headphones noise cancelling   headphones earplugs and sensory communication  cards for people who are non-speaking oh okay   because the overall mission of the foundation  right is to help folks with autism live productive   fruitful lives right exactly yeah uh doing this  through these Avenues yes and you also mentioned   our shop the Spectrum our Artisans our vendors  so this is a new Endeavor of ours but we are   inviting autistic business owners entrepreneurs  and artists to be part of our shop the Spectrum so   fans and attendees will be able to shop um their  like artwar their their t-shirts whatever they're   selling we have a huge vendor area I believe we  have like 18 autistic entrepreneurs coming to sell   their stuff so it'll be a true Festival Vibe okay  um Stephano I understand that you are a performer   at heart because when you're not playing a piano  or a guitar you're giving duckboat tours well I   don't give the tours but I help guests board  the Ducks ah okay however I have narrated a   few tours for my friends on special occasions but  I also get to be the Duck Tours mascot sometimes   whose name is killroy who apparently was in  Quincy he was the one working at the shipyard   during World War II I didn't even know killroy  was in Quincy see it's Kismet it was meant to   be um yes as a matter of fact uh caroy was a  real person he was an inspector at the quinsey   shipyard and he'd scrawl on the side of the ship  after he inspected it killroy was here so there   you go and a fun fact although I talk a a lot I'm  actually good at keeping my mouth shut when I'm a   mascot so my mom makes this joke to get me to stop  talking I should be put inside the mascot costume   she keeps an extra handy just in case right yeah  um so now the duct tours are seasonal of course   so what will you do after those after those done  are done this year work in the culinary industry   really out of college okay all right what's some  of your favorite foods some of them I like as   spaghetti alak carbonara I also like all sorts of  things and I like to enjoy what the season has to   offer yeah I know being healthy is is important  to you right yes I'm trying to Teach the World to   use healthier ingredients as my biggest cooking  goal okay all right so that's a a bold Endeavor   do you think you can combine your two loves your  music and food uh together there of course mhm   maybe uh be a performer at a restaurant perhaps  or something like that that would be an excellent   goal there you go and I say with music also I  like to tell you another thing I do also have a   good ear to detect how songs sound very similar  oh I see what you're saying the chords and and   The Melodies and yes yeah very good do you think  you'll be a composer One Day writing music well I   am working on my own song as well really Secrets  Elizabeth's nodding her head like yes he's got   a lot of talent yes indeed no all of our stars  actually have taken it upon themselves to write   their own music they actually just launched their  first ever original album featuring 15 autistic   artists it's groundbreaking it's called stars of  the spectrum available on all streaming platforms   and we partnered with big night talent to launch  this album it's doing really well and they'll be   performing the album live on August 3rd oh really  yes so Stephano heard the album is inspired and   he's also writing his own music so we're we'll  hope to elevate your song too when you release   it so original music right here in quiny very  good yeah what would you say Elizabeth there are   um some of the misconceptions about autism and  about people with Autism that that the public   should know about yeah so I there are a lot of  misconceptions about autism I think that people   have that they're people might be awkward or come  across as not conversational um but we are here   to break those stereotypes and boundaries like  if you come to this concert you'll see them on   stage people of all talents all abilities will be  taking the stage including non-speakers they'll be   communicating with iPads we have autistic  golfers taking the stage who might not be   singing but they'll be golfing on stage golfing  on stage yeah we have a little chipping contest   on stage um our sponsors are Jersey Mike and  get air trampoline parks so the golfers will   be doing a little contest with Jersey Mike and get  air and we'll be giving away either free Subs to   people or free um trampoline trips ah okay very  good um do you have any kind of goal for for the   event how much you hope to raise and and talk  about the what the funds will be used for yes   so uh I would say our goal is while it will  be monetary it's really mainly to create this   one-of-a-kind event that there's not there's  not an event like this in the nation besides   we really want to create this inclusive and fun  space for people with Autism to enjoy it's by   autism for autism um and all funds raised from our  generous sponsorships and donations made during   the event will directly go to help people and  families with autism live life to the Phil okay   would you say this is your biggest or one of your  biggest fundraisers yes however we are very lucky   we have so many other fundraising inies that we do  throughout the year there are so many passionate   people and we have a huge besides our music arm  we have our fluty 5K for autism and we have a   huge peer-to-peer um fundraising initiative where  people host fundraisers for us they they take on   a race and they'll choose to fundraise for the  fluty foundation so we have many Avenues where   we are able to make an impact yeah it's you know  when I when I hear about the the festival and and   all the different things the foundation's doing  it goes against common knowledge of folks with   autism who would like you know kind of a calm  quiet atmosphere without bright lights and loud   sounds so this is this is turning it out of 10 it  really is different for many people some people   like the loud noise some people don't mind it  some find it they listen to music in their in   their headphones some it really it's different  for every person all right and that's probably   one of the misconceptions right is you can't just  generalize right it's called the spectrum because   everybody's different everybody's a a different  place on that Spectrum right yeah and Stephano it   sounds like you like you enjoy both you enjoy  you know the loud and the uh the exciting but   also you said you listen to to music in your head  as well thanks yeah so going forward do you think   you can use those skills to inspire others uh sure  yeah what um would you say have been some of the   difficulties that you faced uh as you as you deal  with autism sometimes I had trouble understanding   things but I eventually got through it mhm and  what would your advice be to some somebody who   was going through a similar experience remember  to ask somebody for help whenever it's appropriate   yes yeah uh possibly through the fluty foundation  right how did you find the fluty foundation how   did that happen well I believe my mom met the  executive director Nick Savar at a Special   Olympics event okay and believe that they' be  able to to help it with your family as well right   of course yeah yeah has it has it been helpful  would you say it sure has really I love the fluty   foundation I can't leave it do you have to well  I love being a member of it uhhuh Elizabeth is it   for folks of all ages yes it is M okay so there's  no kind of you age out of the system no way yeah   it's there to help whenever necessary very good  uh so tickets for the uh Festival how does that   happen yes so go to www. fluty foundation.org to  check out our website under our events tickets are   still available but they're limited so get yours  quick going fast yeah going fast absolutely are   there volunteer opportunities as well definely  there are yes we have a huge volunteer army   ready to go but there's always time to sign up  for more so yes if you visit our website there   will be an option to sign up to volunteer as well  okay and do you have to have an experience with   autism in order to volunteer no okay we will  we have a great training that's introductory   and entry level so anyone even if you've never  worked with people with Autism before weour en   you to volunteer okay all right very good uh  now going forward after the event this year   what'll be happening for the foundation yes so we  will be going into the fall which is our fluty 5K   for autism season uh we have I think we already  have like eight satellite events lined up and   it's actually going to be our 25th Annual fluty  5K for autism in NAIC which is Doug's Hometown   oh very good okay so will Doug junr also be here  in quiny for this event no so unfortunately douge   does not travel well I see um so he will be  home in Florida but we are live streaming the   event um with our television and media partner  WCVB Channel 5 Boston so anyone from anywhere   can watch at www.wcvb.com excellent so hopefully  dougy will be watching online Okay um how did you   come to to land in quinsey yes so uh this is our  second year of our concert yes last year was our   25th anniversary and we decided to go big we were  at Fenway Park we had 5,000 people stage on The   Dugout it was Unreal it was Unforgettable um and  we are growing so we were looking at venues that   had a higher capacity and quiny was the spot  it's kind of the free jaacks have been amazing   it's been like a blank canvas we've been able to  get creative build shade tents build sensory tents   they're letting us really like do what's best  for the autism Community it's again it's like   a Blake canvas it's so much fun and there's huge  capacity so we're here we're excited excellent uh   Stephano did you perform at Fenway Park of course  I did what was that like it was awesome yeah like   It's a Wonderful venue the year before we didn't  have as many audience but we were at the Lincoln   Center in New York City really okay so have you  traveled the country kind of as a Ambassador for   the foundation would you say well the only  time I really was in a foreign state with   fluty was New York City but also there was  once a gig in Connecticut oh okay all right   so are there other types of autism foundations  Elizabeth like the fluty foundation yes there are   tons so as I said the fluty foundation provides  Community grants to autism serving organizations   um locally that provide Direct Services to the  families we don't provide the Direct Services   per se we provide the funding so there are tons  of community organizations autism organizations   where we actually partner with hundreds of  them and we invited them to the concert and   luckily thanks to our sponsors were're able to  offer free tickets to people and families with   autism and many of these autism organizations are  partaking in that and they're bringing buses of   people they're making a huge Community event for  their for everyone so it should be a lot of fun   yeah it I mean I think you know autism really  has become more in the mainstream discussion   in recent years um I know that uh the state  police uh recently embarked on a new program   to kind of assist officers and folks with autism  communicate better in that situation so it's it's   it's Tak it's getting notice definitely yes the  autism numbers are rising every year um more   people are getting diagnosed and more um normally  marginalized groups are having autism become more   like for example the fluty foundation is really  taking a strong um stance on helping people and   families in minority groups who are culturally  linguistically diverse who may not be able to   communicate an IEP at school or other things like  that so we've been taking a priority to funding   um served communities sure sure uh Stephano have a  great time at the festival uh do you want folks to   come up and say hello to you if if they come yes  please okay all right and uh maybe you'll perform   a little song for them too yeah sing their name  perhaps it would be great okay uh in the meantime   look for you on the Duck Tours yeah you'll have  to see me working at the duck stop though okay and   your in your mascot not speaking and by the way on  the day of game one for the Celtics finals yes I   wasn't in the parade but on the day of game one  I was working at the credential center location   when suddenly a big yellow bus from hoop bus came  mhm and I got to play basketball at work is that   right as well as play on the swing hanging from  the ceiling inside the bus and then the hoop bus   staff crossed the side road to the duck stop for  an impromptu moment that they gave me very good I   climbed on the hood of the duck gave a shout out  and bounced past the ball from up there to one   of the employees who then did some tricks passing  it to other employees and even shooting it across   the side road for the final employee to alup it  that's available on Instagram ah okay we look if   you look at hoop bus on Instagram and look at the  reals thank you both great with a funny basketball   joke too okay all right we'll look that up uh have  a great time next uh next Saturday actually is the   thank you we hope to see you there it'll be great  hope to see you there too thank you thank you   hopefully the weather will cooperate it will this  weekend that's for sure it's beautiful out there   today with temperatures in the low 80s nice and  dry this weekend with sunny warm days and clear   cool nights maybe some showers around here on  Monday thanks again to Elizabeth moroe and Stefan   mcau for joining us from the fluty foundation  thank you to our crew thank you for watching [Music]