Zipping FOR
AUTISM
Registration now open for the annual team fundraiser in June at Asheville Zipline Canopy Adventures
By Karen Chávez, kchavez@citizen-times.com
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t was a little terrifying and made her tummy turn flips, but Donna Gilsdorf is already getting excited to go ziplining again this year, to see the bellyaching views of the Asheville skyline while also helping children with autism. Last year, Gilsdorf, her husband, Greg, and eight other friends and family members formed a team for the inaugural Zipping for Autism event at Asheville Zipline Canopy Adventures. While hanging by just some nylon straps and a carabiner 50 feet in the air
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and soaring through towering tulip poplars over the Crowne Plaza Resort’s old golf course didn’t at first sound like fun, Donna Gilsdorf said it was ultimately “exhilarating.” She and her team will take on the challenge again June 2 for the second annual Wells Fargo Zipping for Autism event, a fundraiser for the Autism Society of North Carolina. As a member of the organizing committee, Gilsdorf wants people to start forming their teams now, since April is Autism Awareness Month. “Our son Luke is on the autism spectrum, so this is a cause very near and dear to our heart. We had a pas-
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