Stella Rhymner, Emily Adam and Tim Adams. Photo provided.
By Tim Adams
DACULA, Ga. | Do you believe that all children should be given an equal opportunity to participate in youth sports? The benefits are undeniable in terms of physical, mental, emotional and social health. Research shows that participating in youth sports leads to immediate and long-term benefits for youth, their families, and their communities.
Adams
Gwinnett County has roughly 190,000 children and per their 2022 annual report, Gwinnett County Parks and Recreation partnered with 31 athletic associations to provide sports opportunities to 32,866 athletes. This puts the overall participation rate at 20 percent. However, if you look at our Special Needs population, this participation rate is less than 0.5 percent with only two athletic associations providing dedicated programs for these athletes, at Grayson and Mountain View schools. Only Grayson has a field appropriate for these athletes.
The Mountain View “Bears Make a Difference” program was founded in 2018 and is the embodiment of what youth sports should be. Bears Make a Difference is currently a volunteer run, co-ed baseball program dedicated to athletes with mental, physical, and multiple disabilities. For the upcoming fall 2023 season, we plan to serve 50 athletes and their families who come to us from 28 different schools and represent 11 school clusters and one private school.
If you are ever in the area, you should stop by Rabbit Hill Park in Dacula on Sunday afternoon for an experience that may well change your life. You’ll hear parents from all teams cheering for every player on the field. You’ll see our “Buddies,” who are youth, high school or college baseball or softball players themselves, working with our athletes to keep them safe and teach them the game.
You’ll feel the energy, the joy, and the confidence from our athletes as they play and set an example for all of us on the true spirit of sports. This program provides a critical time for socialization with their peers and our buddies. Teachers and parents often say that being part of this program boosts our athlete’s confidence and overall quality of life.
With the growth and success of the program, it hasn’t been without challenges. We currently play on a small dirt field. For our spring 2023 season, we had scheduled 18 games, but we were only able to play eight games because of unsafe field conditions. Can you imagine the heartbreak of having to tell parents that their child can’t play today because the field is too muddy, again, and hear that child crying in the background?
The goal is to raise $350,000 for this field. So far, we have raised $35,000.
This is where you can help. We plan to build a turf field that will be a “home” for these kids; a place where they can play even when the weather doesn’t cooperate. The cost of a turf field is significant, but we remain undeterred in our goal, given our program’s spirit of overcoming the challenges before us. We know that we can’t do this alone. We need the support of our community; we need you to help to make this dream a reality.
- Learn more: https://www.facebook.com/bearsmakeadifference/.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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