Benji's rubber band ball challenge

When Benji was about two years old, he was diagnosed with High Functioning Autism and went to PK and K to a private special ed school. When he turned 6 he no longer needed the support and transitioned into general ed where - thanks to his first grade teacher - he developed a passion for all things circle shaped. When his 1st-grade teacher handed him a small rubber band ball to calm his nerves during a class, he found his new love and started making his own rubber band ball. He became very good at it quickly and even sold a 25 lbs ball which didn't turn out to be his liking.

In 2011 Ripley's Believe it or Not! invited him to their warehouse in Orlando, FL to see the World's largest rubber band ball, which weighs 9,432 lbs. That day Benji set out to break this record. (By the way, if you have the 2012 edition of this book, he's featured with a small write-up on page 141.)

Today his biggest ball weighs 500 lbs. We're now having a hard time finding rubber bands and they're very expensive for us as we live on one income. We tried to contact some rubber band manufacturers but they didn't respond.

Please help Benji to achieve his goal.

When the ball reaches 9,433 lbs or more, we will put it up for auction and donate a significant portion to the Cure Autism Now Foundation and the Prostate Cancer Foundation (in honor of Benji's grandfather).

Thank you!