Zumba dance May 1 supports autism walk-a-thon team

WINSTED — Team Jake and Company, a group participating in annual walk-a-thons in support of the national organization Autism Speaks, will hold a Zumba dance fundraiser Sunday May 1, at 1 p.m. at the Open Door Soup Kitchen.Certified Zumba Instructor Chris Royer will lead the event to support the group, named for Northwestern Regional Middle School seventh-grader Jake Cook.“We’ve been having this walk since 2005 and running fund-raisers every year,” said Adele Banas of Winsted, who was Jake’s speech therapist when he was in elementary school. When Banas retired from the job, Jake’s mother, Karen Cook, asked Banas if she would be interested in running Team Jake, and she said yes. This year marks the team’s first attempt at a Zumba (pronounced “zoom-bah”) fundraiser, in which participants join in an energetic dance to Latin rhythms.“Chris Royer is amazing,” Banas said of the leader of the Zumba event, who is also a member of the Winchester Board of Education. “I think she’s the best Zumba instructor in the world.”Karen Cook said Tuesday that her son takes special education classes in the LINKS program at Northwestern and that he excels in art and music, but struggles academically. Jake interacts with peers in the special education classes and in the general student population, but he is not expected to go to college or live independently as an adult.“I decided to get on the bandwagon with Autism Speaks because they are a national organization, and a lot of the money they raise comes back to Connecticut,” Cook said, noting that the University of Connecticut and Yale University both have autism research programs.Cook noted that autism cases have been on the rise in the past two decades and that increasing services are needed for both children and adults. “Autistic people don’t have a lot of physical issues that would cause a shorter lifespan, so they’re going to outlive their parents and they’re going to need someplace to go,” she said.The Open Door Soup Kitchen is located in the dining hall at St. James Church, 160 Main St., Winsted. The requested donation for the event is $10 for adults and $5 for students, and all proceeds benefit Team Jake and Company for Autism Speaks. Following this weekend’s Zumba event, Team Jake and Company will host a beer tasting fundraiser May 19 at the Hooker Brewery in Bloomfield. For more information, call Team Jake and Company Captain Adele Banas at 860-379-2140.