The second annual Light It Up Blue (LIUB) campaign will launch on April 1 in an effort to celebrate World Autism Awareness Day and to raise funds for, and awareness about, autism, Autism Speaks has announced. Autism Speaks, North America’s largest autism science and advocacy organization, is launching a free Light It Up Blue iPhone App and a new Build a Blue Website to help support the campaign.

Landmark buildings in over 120 U.S. cities and 25 countries around the world, including the Empire State Building and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, will light up blue to help kick off Autism Awareness Month. Suzanne Wright, the co-founder of Autism Speaks, has said the organization is “very excited to see all these landmark buildings…illuminated in blue as part of our Light It Up Blue campaign.”

The second LIUB campaign comes after last year’s Autism Speaks’ New York Celebrity Golf Challenge raised over $886,000 for Autism Speaks. The celebrity players and attendees included ‘Gossip Girl’ star Matthew Settle, ‘Rescue Me’ actor James McCaffrey and New York Giants player Michael Boley.

Written by: Karen Benardello