The King and the kids: Forty & Eight veteran honor society donates $9,000 to Rock Hill child autism center

ROCK HILL With a little help from The King – an impersonator anyway – a Rock Hill honor society of veterans has donated more than $9,000 to a Rock Hill nonprofit that teaches children with autism.

Monday at the Chrysalis Autism Center, members of the Forty & Eight veterans group presented $9,170 that was raised mainly from tickets sold to a June concert by an Elvis impersonator. The money will be used for operating expenses for the center that relies solely on Medicaid payments to provide early intensive behavioral treatment to children, said Tobie Presler, clinical director at Chrysalis.

“This donation helps us pay the day-to-day expenses so we can continue to make a difference in the lives of children,” Presler said. “We help the children reach their potential by teaching them how to learn.”

The center assists children between the ages of 2 and 6, with one-on-one therapy 40 hours per week. Currently, the center has six children and eight therapists.

On Monday at the center, therapists Coty Murphy and Elizabeth Patterson each worked with one child involved in activities aimed at finding the greatness in each child.

Robert “Doc” Sweet of the Forty & Eight, a retired physician, reiterated the importance of Chrysalis in assisting children with autism in “learning how to learn.”

“Our goal always is to help groups like Chrysalis help the children of our community,” Sweet said.

The honor society, affiliated with the American Legion, exists solely for charitable and patriotic causes, said member Isaac “Ike” Miller. There is no better cause than helping children achieve, Miller said.

Rock Hill Mayor Doug Echols was part of Monday’spresentation, and Echols talked of how centers such as Chrysalis with the help of organizations such as the Forty & Eight continue to improve the lives of children in Rock Hill and York County.

“Success takes broad-based community support, and from that the young children who are being served here are receiving the teaching and therapy each needs,” Echols said. “Rock Hill is fortunate to have Chrysalis Autism Center, and fortunate to have the generous men and women of the Forty & Eight who see a need and make a difference.”

This story was originally published August 10, 2015 at 5:48 PM with the headline "The King and the kids: Forty & Eight veteran honor society donates $9,000 to Rock Hill child autism center."