By Whitley Rives

For The Observer

The Mississippi RiverKings hockey team will host The Dockery Foundation as the M.V.P. (Money-Volunteers-Publicity) Non-Profit Organization on Saturday, Feb. 27, to help promote autism awareness during the RiverKings' 7:05 p.m. game against the Allen Americans.

The RiverKings have chosen autism awareness as a patron cause for the third season in a row through the team's assists-for-charity pledge program, "Assists for Autism,” and an endowed fund by the same name at the Community Foundation of North Mississippi.

The RiverKings have helped fund several sports camps for children with autism through donations to The Dockery Foundation, which is a regular recipient of grants from the Assists for Autism fund.

Trey and Deb Dockery founded The Dockery Foundation after their son Chase was born. Art was an integral part of Chase's life from a very young age.

 "When Chase was diagnosed with Autism at 7, we realized that his art had become as much therapeutic as a hobby," Deb Dockery said.  "After we enrolled him in art classes in Florida, he gained self-confidence, improved his art skills, and interacted with other children, something he would have had difficulty doing under normal circumstances. 

"Art was helping our Chase in ways that a normal classroom setting couldn't. My husband and I decided that, if we ever moved back to the Mid-South, we would open a center for children with autism, with art being the focal point."

In 2006, the Dockerys created the "Art for Autism" program, which uses art as therapy to provide an expressive sensory program to autistic children. Today, the Dockery Foundation also sponsors the Move for Autism Soccer program and Camp BOLD, a summer day camp program in which autistic children can participate in many traditional day camp activities - games, outdoor fun, music, tie-dying, and other activities - in an environment that is comfortable for them.

Geoff Fargo became involved in The Dockery Foundation as a volunteer and parent of a child participating in The Dockery Foundation's Art for Autism programs. Founders Deb and Trey Dockery soon asked him to join The Dockery Foundation's Board of Directors, and in late 2009, to take on the role of Dockery Foundation executive director.

"We have children who speak and children who don't; we have children who are artistically gifted and children whose gifts lie elsewhere," Fargo said. "Our purpose is to provide enriching activities for autistic individuals, while also assisting their families and educating the public at large about autism." 

The Dockery Foundation programs, Fargo said, serve a dual purpose: providing rewarding activities for children with autism while simultaneously providing opportunities for volunteers from outside the "autism community" to get to interact with autistic individuals.

"We find that in the end, both sides are rewarded," Fargo said. "I enjoy working with The Dockery Foundation because the kids are amazing.  Each individual with autism brings a unique perspective to the world, and I cherish my time with them.  It is also wonderful to see the community of volunteers who arrive every time we put out the call, and to know that they also appreciate our kids as much as I do."

Fargo said the efforts on behalf of autistic children are timely and needed.

"Current statistics indicate that approximately one in 92 individuals has an Autism

Spectrum Disorder," Fargo said. "As rates of diagnosis rise, so too does the need for programming that addresses the needs of children and families who live with autism." 

For more information on The Dockery Foundation, visit their website at

www.dockeryfoundation.org , or check out their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/dfdotorg, or e-mail info@dockeryfoundation.org.

For more information about making a one-time donation to Assists for Autism or

pledging a designated amount per assist made by the team, call the RiverKings at

662.342.1755 or e-mail whitley@riverkings.com.