East Meadow Organization Joining Search for Avonte Oquendo

An East Meadow community group is joining the efforts to bring a missing autistic child from Rego Park back home.

Pocket Change to Make a Change, created by residents Michael Gordon, Kathleen Bracker and Matthew Dosil in 2011 to "make sure every person has the materials they need after a natural disaster," is volunteering their time for a different cause this weekend.

The group is holding a missing person awareness event for Avonte Oquendo, 14, who was last seen leaving Long Island City’s Center Boulevard School just after 12:30 p.m. Oct. 4.

Gordon said the group decided to "take on this new way of helping our community" after he received an email from a close friend. "My friend's son has severe autism as well and wanted to help Avonte's family out by spreading the word out on Long Island," he said.

Oquendo, who is five-feet-three-inches and 125 pounds, is severely autistic and cannot communicate verbally. The New York City Police Department is now looking in previously searched areas for Avonte as the search expands to New Jersey and Long Island. Oquendo is reportedly fascinated by trains and police believe the mute teen may have rode a train outside the city.

Pocket Change to Make a Change is looking for volunteers to print out 50 copies of the updated flyer and distribute them in shifts on Saturday and Sunday: 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 12-3 p.m. All age groups are welcome.

Volunteers from the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, as well as the SUNY Albany sorority, Alpha Epsilon Phi, are already on board.

The group will be meeting at Pathmark on Hempstead Turnpike on the Levittown/Bethpage border Saturday and Sunday. Those interested in volunteering or donating services can email Gordon at GiveBack@live.com.