TOWAMENCIN – Most members of the North Penn community know Ben Hartranft, either as the retired mayor of North Penn, the 2016 homecoming king, or even a friendly face in the halls. He has been an autism awareness advocate for as long as he can remember, and this year his favorite football team, the Philadelphia Eagles, have recognized him for it. They made a documentary on how Hartranft lives his daily life with autism, and it is airing Saturday, December 23rd at 9:30 A.M. on NBC10.

Since February, Ben has had the opportunity to do research studies on autism. Through the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), he was able to volunteer for the Eagles’ Huddle Up For Autism in March.

“When we got to Huddle Up For Autism, a guy came up to us and said ‘I woke up this morning to meet you guys, I want to do a story on Ben.’ It turns out the Eagles had called CHOP asking if they knew anyone in particular for a story on autism, and [CHOP] said ‘Ben can do it!’ They actually came to the house to interview me, the whole thing was really cool,” Hartranft recalled.

Having been an Eagles fan his whole life, Hartranft was most excited about being invited to the Eagles training camp in August. He got to meet all of the players, the mascot Swoop, the cheerleaders, and Doug Pederson.

“It was just a great experience meeting the players, getting pictures with them, it was just unbelievable,” shared Hartranft.

In September, CHOP invited Hartranft back for a press conference for the Eagles Autism Challenge, which is a 5K and cycling event taking place in May to raise funds for autism. At the conference, Hartranft got to meet Jeffrey Lurie, chairman and CEO of the Philadelphia Eagles, who promotes the Eagles involvement with their autistic fans. Footage from the press conference, training camp, 2017 homecoming, Hartranft’s church, and interviews with Ben, Dr. Bauer, and Coach Beck will be featured in the documentary. It focuses on Ben’s life story and how he overcomes challenges and deals with autism on a daily basis.

“We are really proud of him for everything that he does. Especially with the research he does at CHOP, he really enjoys doing that and it is the avenue that made the rest of this come to be. It’s been exciting to see how hard Ben has worked and all of the things he has been able to accomplish” said his mother Sandy Hartranft.

Ben graduated in 2017, but still comes to North Penn for four periods a day as part of North Penn’s Post 12 program. After his classes, he goes out to his work study at the Mitzvah Circle Foundation, which exposes him to opportunities for the future.

Ben hopes that everyone will tune into NBC10 on December 23rd at 9:30 AM to watch the documentary, as well as continuing to support Ben and the Philadelphia Eagles with autism awareness.