Friendship visits galore today!
We started our programming today at 7:30am and we weren't finished until 9:15pm!
For breakfast we dined at Independence First, an organization that supports those with disabilities and enables them to lead seemingly normal lives.
We then headed to a local school where we had two Kids on the Block performances and also colored and did other crafts with the kids attending the summer school program. Many of them come from underprivileged backgrounds and have varying behavior problems and social disabilities. It was hard to relate to them at first but as soon as they warmed up to us we all had a blast.
For lunch we ate at a local church. We also spent a couple hours having a friendship visit with the adults in their day program. We played kickball, Wii Dance and tic-tac-toe just to name a few. Kickball was my personal favorite, and the weather was gorgeous so it was pleasant to be outside.
During the afternoon we headed to the Pettit National Ice Center which is home to our Olympic training facility for ice skating. It was cool to see a flyer with Miami's synchronized skating team on it. They have won the national championship the past 9 seasons in a row and 15 out of 17 so they are no stranger to skating at Pettit. We played wheelchair ice hockey which was incredibly difficult, but also incredibly fun. It is amazing how quick we could move on the ice, but also how uncoordinated we are in wheelchairs. The individuals that played with us that are regular chair users really showed us up on the ice!
For dinner we headed to a local high school. We got the opportunity to play wheelchair floor hockey, wheelchair basketball, and beep-ball which is baseball for the visually impaired. I spent a good amount of time playing beep-ball. The ball is like a giant softball, and it makes noises so you can hear it coming. Not only is it incredibly hard to hit when you are blindfolded, but it was also hard to field, only going off of the noises of the ball to field it. The bases also beep, so to run to base you also have to listen and find the base. This game definitely helped us work on empathy and I have a much greater appreciation for being able to see and play baseball with all of my senses. It was a heck of a challenge that I would love to try again!
Finally, we wrapped up our night by saying our goodbyes and loading up all of the wheelchairs that we had used for a good amount of the day. Almost 14 hours of programming wore everyone out, and we haven't even cycled in 2 days! Tomorrow we head back into Illinois. Wisconsin has been a blast and the hospitality has been amazing!
Thank you for checking in!
Love & Honor,
Beau
We started our programming today at 7:30am and we weren't finished until 9:15pm!
For breakfast we dined at Independence First, an organization that supports those with disabilities and enables them to lead seemingly normal lives.
We then headed to a local school where we had two Kids on the Block performances and also colored and did other crafts with the kids attending the summer school program. Many of them come from underprivileged backgrounds and have varying behavior problems and social disabilities. It was hard to relate to them at first but as soon as they warmed up to us we all had a blast.
For lunch we ate at a local church. We also spent a couple hours having a friendship visit with the adults in their day program. We played kickball, Wii Dance and tic-tac-toe just to name a few. Kickball was my personal favorite, and the weather was gorgeous so it was pleasant to be outside.
During the afternoon we headed to the Pettit National Ice Center which is home to our Olympic training facility for ice skating. It was cool to see a flyer with Miami's synchronized skating team on it. They have won the national championship the past 9 seasons in a row and 15 out of 17 so they are no stranger to skating at Pettit. We played wheelchair ice hockey which was incredibly difficult, but also incredibly fun. It is amazing how quick we could move on the ice, but also how uncoordinated we are in wheelchairs. The individuals that played with us that are regular chair users really showed us up on the ice!
For dinner we headed to a local high school. We got the opportunity to play wheelchair floor hockey, wheelchair basketball, and beep-ball which is baseball for the visually impaired. I spent a good amount of time playing beep-ball. The ball is like a giant softball, and it makes noises so you can hear it coming. Not only is it incredibly hard to hit when you are blindfolded, but it was also hard to field, only going off of the noises of the ball to field it. The bases also beep, so to run to base you also have to listen and find the base. This game definitely helped us work on empathy and I have a much greater appreciation for being able to see and play baseball with all of my senses. It was a heck of a challenge that I would love to try again!
Finally, we wrapped up our night by saying our goodbyes and loading up all of the wheelchairs that we had used for a good amount of the day. Almost 14 hours of programming wore everyone out, and we haven't even cycled in 2 days! Tomorrow we head back into Illinois. Wisconsin has been a blast and the hospitality has been amazing!
Thank you for checking in!
Love & Honor,
Beau
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