Local Autism Advocate Honored by SF Giants Community Fund

SAN FRANCISCO -- Elena Marimo Berk, co-founder of The Creekside School, was honored during a pre-game ceremony at Oracle Park by the San Francisco Giants Community Fund on Thursday, Sept. 26.

Marimo was awarded the annual Isabelle Lemon Community Spirit Award for volunteering more than 3,100 hours of her time over 13 years and her work with students with autism.

Marimo is currently the secretary of the board of The Creekside School, a 501(c)(3) nonpublic school in San Jose founded in 2006 that serves students with moderate to severe autism. During the pre-game ceremony, Marimo was presented with a $2,500 grant for The Creekside School to continue her work.

On a mission to find more space for the school, Marimo spent almost five years creating partnerships with developers on housing/school projects, looking for vacant spaces to build and visiting existing facilities that could be repurposed. This fall, Creekside expanded from two to four classrooms and is expected to grow to 10 classrooms serving 60 students by Fall 2022.

The Silicon Valley Leadership Group honored Marimo as a 2018 Game Changer. In her essay, she said, "people with physical and intellectual challenges deserve the same rights and treatment as the rest of us. We must realize these challenges do not prevent people from contributing to our world."

Each year, the Giants Community Fund selects an individual to receive this award, which recognizes one volunteer who exemplifies the commitment to community service and "can-do" spirit of long-time volunteer and Giants Community Fund Board Member, Emeritus Isabelle Lemon.