One girl. One family. One community. Read about the Sparkles and how they touched the hearts and changed the minds of their town.
“In the beginning, we thought the most important thing we could do was to teach our Sparkles to cheer. Our program is one of the only high-school based squads in the country; it is also uniquely youth-led and youth-driven. Our Sparkles cheer with us – front and center – at Pleasant Valley sporting events. Leading by example, we hope to inspire other students and adults to include students with disabilities in both sports programming and social programming. We hope to send the simple and powerful message: It’s cool to care.
One father left work early to attend a practice. He approached us afterward with tears in his eyes and said that he had just heard his daughter say more in the last 45 minutes than he had heard her say in the last four years. One mom told us how gratifying it was for her that finally her daughter with disabilities was the one in the spotlight, while her typically-developing children sat in the audience, rather than the other way around.
At our Sparkles’ end-of-the-season awards banquet, a mother of one of our girls with Down Syndrome approached us to thank us for our work with the team. She started to cry and told us that she no longer wakes up thinking, ”What if?” She said that the Sparkles’ program has helped her to celebrate her beautiful daughter for who she is.
Our Sparkles may have learned from us, but we learned far more from them. Our Sparkles served as models for perseverance and courage in spite of adversity and those of us lucky enough to work with them developed compassion and respect and appreciation for those with differences.”
Help us continue to fund programs like this one in Iowa that teaches inclusion and inspires peers, parents and a community to play together and play often. With your donation, we can provide funding to groups that truly make a difference in their communities and help get girls active and stay active.
Get A Girl Active - The easiest way you can inspire a girl is to make everything a team effort. A girl is more likely to be active if her parent, guardian or other key adult in her life is active. Let her see you making physical activity part of your life. Be a real-life hero as she sees you jogging that extra lap, attempting that 3-point shot, striking that yoga pose. There are a number of ways you can emphasize that you are in this together.
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