A group of professional bass anglers are creating another Autism Awareness campaign on the Bassmaster Elite Series this year during the month of April. John Crews took an idea given to him by Kevin VanDam for the Elite anglers to pledge a dollar amount per pound of bass they catch during the month. Crews is coordinating the pledge drive and asking fellow pros to take the pledge for autism and take it to social media.
“Last year, I was blown away with almost every single Elite angler flying an Autism Awareness flag, so it will be hard to top that," Crews said. "This year, I'm asking my fellow pros to take a pledge to donate a dollar per pound of bass they catch during the month of April. Anglers can pick the Autism charity of their choice. I'm encouraging all pros to talk about the whole program on social media because our cumulative reach is huge."
Crews will donate to the Blue Ridge Autism and Achievement Center near his home in Virginia and to Autism Speaks, a national autism charity. With the Elite Series having three events that have competition days during April, there could be a substantial amount of weight accumulated by the anglers.
Thus far, VanDam, Mike Iaconelli, Randall Tharp and Ish Monroe have joined Crews in making pledges.
