Reading, Pa. (Nov. 25, 2008) – Twelve members of the men’s lacrosse team and eight from the women’s lacrosse team traveled to the Vanity Fair Outlets on Saturday, November 22, to participate in a fundraiser for the IM ABLE Foundation. The foundation is designed to focus on the abilities, rather than the disabilities, of children and adults with disabilities.
The “IM ABLE Foundation” aims to help children and adults with disabilities and develop programs and services to help them with barriers that they face each and every day. Chris Kaag, a disabled U.S. Marine, is the creator of the foundation. The Foundation is an excellent campaign that increases public awareness of the challenges faced by people with disabilities so that everyone else can assist in helping or making things easier for them. Also, it increases awareness for everyone to focus on the positive and not the negative in every situation.
When the Alvernia University lacrosse teams arrived at the VF Outlets on Saturday, the third floor was transformed into an obstacle course. Their goal was to raise money and awareness for the “IM ABLE Foundation.” Athletic and recreational games were set up and people were able to participate in different carnival games on wheel chairs. There was an obstacle course, basketball, golf, hockey, and football games to play, and everyone had to be on wheel chairs when they participated.
The Alvernia lacrosse players were in charge of working each station for each different sport and the obstacle course. “We were in charge of each station, and people would pay for a certain amount of tries or attempts at each event,” said sophomore lacrosse and soccer player Kara Ross. “I never realized how hard it really is to be in a wheel chair. People that participated in the different events would get frustrated because things that we take for granted can be really difficult for someone in a wheel chair.“
Ross’s teammate, sophomore Felicia Sippel, elaborated on her comment. “People in wheelchairs can do the same things as able-bodied people, such as riding a bike and playing sports. They can still live normal lives – they just do things differently.”
Everyone involved in this event had positive things to say. Head Coach of the men’s lacrosse team, Kevin Meany, said, “It really gave a different perspective to everyone involved. It was interesting to see what people in wheel chairs go through on a daily basis.”
There were hand cycles there, which are what people in wheel chairs use for competitive racing. There are three wheels, and the handles are used as pedals; you have to row in order to move the bike. Martin Novia, who played for the Lacrosse Team for three years, commented, “That experience really opened my eyes. The hand cycles were so hard to use, it was a work-out! Plus, the obstacle course was neat because we had to do things like opening and going through doors, which seem routine for most people, but in a wheel chair it really isn’t so easy.”
The event was an enormous success; a total of $17,200 was raised! To sum it all up, Chris Baker, a junior on the Men’s Team said, “It felt great to be part of an experience like that. We had the opportunity to see things from the point of view of a disabled person. The ‘IM ABLE Foundation’ is a great program, and I’m glad we could help.” The money raised will be used to buy two skis to jump-start the adaptive ski program at Bear Creek.
For more information on the “IM ABLE Foundation,” go to
www.im-able.org.