Mini Camp is a joyful, energy-filled program for the youngest members of the YC Family. Many children, ages 4 to 8, are first introduced to the fun and excitement of YC through these experiences. Mini Camp gives young participants a chance to make friends, try new things, and start building social skills from an early age. Teen volunteers are always quick to sign up to help at Mini Camp programs. The youngsters and teens work together to make crafts, play sports, swim, and enjoy fun field trips throughout Greater Cleveland. We had a blast with an animal-themed day at Acacia Reservation in Beachwood, an art-focused program at Wade Oval, and Farm Day in North Olmsted.

“The health of YC is demonstrated by the amount of young participation,” says Alumni Participant and YC Boccia Coach Sean Walker. Sean began coming to YC programs when he was a Mini Camper at four years old himself in 1992. He recalls the feeling of being “at home” with the YC crew from the very beginning.  We continue to serve young people and provide a “home” for our little ones to this day!

This past summer, we hosted Mini Camp programs every Monday at various locations throughout Northeast Ohio. These Monday Mini Camp Programs were one of our busier program days, with up to 14 young participants joining us for a program along with their teen volunteer partner. As Sean alluded to, we feel hopeful for the future of YC programming with this wonderful group of participants. Mini Camp is a great way to ease into YC programming and the world of extracurriculars. For many kids, this may be their first experience with a recreational program outside of their school and home.

We are happy to have so many young kids enjoying programs at YC and finding a home in the community here!

Your Annual Fund gift makes programs like Mini Camp possible. Please donate today at YouthChallengeSports.com/Donate.

Sherwin-Williams was awarded the Corporate Leadership Award at the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Greater Cleveland Chapter’s National Philanthropy Day Luncheon on Friday, November 4. Youth Challenge nominated the organization for its over 35 years of support.

“Support from Sherwin-Williams has allowed YC to grow to serve more participants and teen volunteers,” Chris Garr, CEO of Youth Challenge, said, “In addition to providing funding, Sherwin Williams’ support has also spread awareness of our mission amongst their employees and the community at large. We are so grateful to be championed by such a fabulous institution with local roots and a global reach.”

In 1986, Sherwin-Williams Women’s Club made their first gift of $500 to Youth Challenge. Since then, the organization has continued to find new ways to help YC thrive. In 2018, the Women’s Club selected YC as the beneficiary of their annual golf outing. Then, in 2020, they selected YC as an ongoing partner for their annual 5K race. For the event’s first two years, Sherwin-Williams Women’s Club held virtual races for Youth Challenge and raised more than $60,000 each year. Finally, in 2022, Sherwin-Williams Women’s Club and Youth Challenge were able to host the race in person. More than 1,400 runners registered for the event. The event was a record-breaker for YC, with net proceeds of more than $83,000 raised to support the organization. (Before the Sherwin-Williams Women’s Club began to provide leadership for the event, Youth Challenge’s annual 5k averaged $15,000 in revenue.)

Not only has the Sherwin-Williams Women’s Club provided three decades’ worth of support, but Sherwin-Williams Company as a whole has also been a strong partner of YC. Youth Challenge has two board members from Sherwin Williams. Mark Dvoroznak, the retired VP of Enterprise Management at Sherwin-Williams, now serves on the Executive Committee as the Board Vice President and Chair of the YC Philanthropy Committee. Allen Kitchen, the VP of IT of the Sherwin-Williams Company, also serves on Youth Challenge’s Board of Trustees.

In addition, Sherwin-Williams employees have volunteered through service projects, taking on various needs around our headquarters in Westlake. For example, in 2022, they donated their time and supplies to repaint the YC offices, helping to brighten up the spaces that our staff, participants, and volunteers use daily.

The Sherwin-Williams Women’s Club has provided philanthropic support for 111 years. Recent Women’s Club events have benefitted local organizations such as the West Side Catholic Center and the City Mission, helping to fund programs that help to provide food, shelter, and other necessities to those in the Cleveland community. In 2021, The Sherwin-Williams Company provided 6.4 million dollars in total giving. More than 1,300 nonprofit organizations were supported by employee giving. U.S. employees served on over 120 nonprofit boards.

Cuyahoga Valley National Park is a beautiful place to enjoy the changing fall leaves and crisp weather. Youth Challenge participant alumni leaders got the chance to visit October 10-11 for the first-ever overnight  Alumni Leadership Retreat! Alumni stayed at the Stanford House, which was initially built in 1843 by George Stanford, the son of one of the first settlers in the Western Reserve. It was purchased in 1978 by the National Park Service.

During the retreat, each alumni participant chose one personal goal to reflect on. The goals alumni expressed ranged from health and fitness goals to independent living-related goals to even goals related to starting nonprofits to help more people with disabilities. Alumni participants had the chance to discuss their goals with a partner as they hiked the trail from the Stanford House to the Boston Visitor’s Center. They discussed what their goals were, the obstacles they had faced in meeting their goals, and how they could overcome those obstacles. In addition, each alumni participant chose an accountability partner to help make sure they were taking steps to meet their goal after the retreat. After their hike, alumni enjoyed a delicious dinner together courtesy of Terrie Garr and Chris Garr, Sr. (our CEO Chris Garr’s parents, who have been supporting YC for almost 40 years!) and Chris Fischer, a dedicated adult volunteer. After dinner, the group sat around a campfire and enjoyed eating smores and spending time with each other.

Park Ranger Rebecca Jones Macko gave a presentation to the alumni on the relationship between historic preservation and disability accessibility at the Stanford House and Cuyahoga Valley National Park. After the presentation, alumni participants had the opportunity to ask questions and make suggestions regarding the accessibility of the Stanford House and the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Park Ranger Rebecca gave YC a braille Cuyahoga Valley National Park Visitor’s Guide to keep!

All in all, the alumni retreat was a unique opportunity for participant alumni leaders to take a step back from their busy lives, set personal life goals, and connect on how to make a difference in the lives of others with disabilities.

We’re excited to keep reaching for our goals and hope this is the first of many alumni leadership retreats to come!

Finn Born-Crow is a Team YC soccer star!

He is a versatile player in offense and defense positions. Since joining the Team YC soccer team last fall, Finn has grown in confidence and speed. Finn is an outgoing and fun-loving kid who has embraced every opportunity YC has had to offer. Last fall, he and his family even got to go with Team YC to see U.S. National Women’s Soccer Team beat Paraguay 9-0!

Finn has proven his athletic prowess in the March Madness program. His team, the Tryin’ Lions, were the first-place winners of the Crosstown Showdown!

Watch Finn and other YC players take on the Empower Sports team on October 22 from 10 a.m. to noon at St. Mary’s Church in Berea! (In case of inclement weather, the game will be held at Force Sports in Rocky River.)

If you’ve been a part of the YC community during the last two decades, chances are, you know Will Gallup.

He joined us in the summer of 1999 when he was just 13-years-old. Since then, Will has participated in just about everything YC has to offer. Currently, he is a member of the boccia team, the alumni entrepreneurship team, and Young Professionals for Youth Challenge (YP4YC.) He also is a regular in Adult Community Team (ACT!) programs.

“Regardless of what we all do together, I just like being around everybody,” Will said. “We’re all family no matter what we do.”

Will’s early years did not allow much time for social activities. But, once he got older, Will’s mom looked for ways for him to make new friends, create new hobbies, and have a more normal life outside of physical therapy. That’s when Will and his family learned about YC.

“I had some pretty nice classmates when it came to school, but I didn’t know until now that I didn’t have that magical connection that I had with YC,” Will said. “Socially, I would not be where I am without YC because I’ve made so many friends with alumni participants and with volunteers.”

As Will participated in YC programs, he grew a passion for empowering others in the disability community and their families. In 2016, he joined the Human Rights Committee of the Rose-Mary Center, a local organization that serves those with developmental disabilities. From there, a door opened for Will to serve as a Good Life Ambassador (GLA) through the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities. As a Good Life Ambassador, Will and his team (including fellow YC alum Sean Walker) present on topics such as inclusion, employment for people with disabilities, and support services for people with disabilities. Since 2016, the Good Life Ambassadors have given over 250 presentations to the local community.

“My goal is to leave the disability community better than it was when I came into the world, better than it was 32 years ago [when the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed],” Will said. “I’m confident that when my time is up, or I can no longer do it, [the disability community] will be better off.”

YC alumni Saphire Murphy and Sara Steimle are leading the ADA Cleveland Advisory Board. ADA Cleveland, formed in August 2014, is a coalition of agencies and organizations that share in the mission to provide greater access and opportunity for individuals with disabilities. The Advisory Board is a group of individuals with disabilities who determine the advocacy focus of ADA Cleveland.

“They’re a very diverse group, they’re advocates,” Sara said. “So they’re going to have very strong, positive opinions and they want to make a change.”

This year, the focus is on transportation, housing and voting.

“The people you vote for not only affects how your transportation runs, but also how your housing system is distributed,” Saphire said. “If you can improve one area, you can drastically improve other areas.”

Members of the Advisory Board will serve as conversation leaders at information tents at March for Access on September 10. March for Access is a rally at Cleveland Public Square for better access to transportation, housing, and voting for people with disabilities.

In addition to the March for Access, the Advisory Board is working on creating other opportunities for those in the disability community to engage with each other and discuss other issues that matter to them.

“We’re trying to get out in the community and engage as much as possible to see how we can be more proactive,” Saphire said.

Sara said she is proud to be able to speak up for those in the disability community who may not be able to—those who may not have the confidence or the resources to stand for their rights.

“I think it’s important to just be a voice and be a positive impact on the disability community,” Sara said.

Join Saphire, Sara, and others in the disability community at March for Access on September 10 at Cleveland Public Square. Check-in and sign-making starts at 9 am, and the rally and march start at 11 am. Register here.

At the end of every summer, Team YC hosts a celebration for volunteers, participants, and families. This program allows everyone to come together one more time before the summer comes to a close. This year, the Summer’s End Bash was fire! It was a HOT one. But even the warm temperatures did not keep this crowd from having fun. They came with smiling faces and were ready to play.

At this event, volunteers ran multiple game stations. Each table had prizes to win, and anyone who wanted to play could play for free! Participants had a wonderful time dunking the bucket over the staff person’s head at the Dunk Bucket station. Many free play activities were on hand, too, such as four square, bubbles, chalk, basketball, and corn hole.   

Megan ran an Art Station where participants could leave a fingerprint using paint “to leave their mark” for a collective community piece we started at Where Will Color Take You? 5K Race & 1-Mile Walk & Roll earlier this summer.  

The Alumni Smoothie Stand was on hand to keep everyone cool with their delicious fruit smoothies. The stand included a naming contest to see what the alumni would call this new entrepreneurship program. Near the end of the Bash, the alumni team counted all the votes, and the name of the Alumni Smoothie Stand will be called YC WOOthies! 

Participants and volunteers had the opportunity to get four staff members messy by turning them into Human Sundaes. Each person had the opportunity to pour an ingredient on a staff member, such as chocolate syrup, caramel, whipped cream, sprinkles, and others!

At the end of the program, we recognized the Senior Volunteer class of 2022. Abbie, our Volunteer Coordinator, gave out graduation survival kits to eight of our seniors that attended the Bash. Altogether, we have 48 seniors that volunteered at Youth Challenge. We also recognized our summer program intern, Evelynn “Evie” Beyerle. Evie is a soon-to-be Miami University of Ohio graduate in 2023, coming all the way from Alabama.  

Last but not least, we drew the winners of the Summer Raffle. Congratulations to the winners: 

First Prize: Natalie Caruso 

Second Prize: Colleen Starr 

Thank you to everyone who bought a ticket! Nearly $14,000 was raised to support young people with physical disabilities and their teen volunteers. 

All-in-all, the Summer’s End Bash was a VANtastic celebration of many of the people that make YC unique: staff, volunteers, alumni entrepreneurs, and participants! 

Looking to get your car washed? How about a delicious smoothie? The Youth Challenge alumni entrepreneurship team is excited to launch its smoothie venture at the Volunteer Committee Car Wash fundraiser on Thursday, July 21 from 10 am-2 pm in the YC parking lot! (Check out the Facebook event here.) 

In October 2021,  YC alumni Sara Steimle and Sean Walker traveled to Gardner, Kansas for the Boccia National Tournament. On the way there, they stopped at The Golden Scoop, a nonprofit ice cream and coffee shop that provides meaningful employment for individuals with developmental disabilities. From there, an idea was born.

A group of YC alumni has been meeting every other week for the last several months to develop a social venture. This venture will teach YELP participants job skills, promote healthy eating in the Greater Cleveland area, and raise funds and awareness for Youth Challenge. The team is working towards a smoothie stand that participants and volunteers will use to sell smoothies at YC events, and other community events in the Greater Cleveland area. As a result of the smoothie venture, the Greater Cleveland community will learn about healthy eating options and the full potential of employees with physical disabilities.

The alumni entrepreneurship team has a vision to develop an internship to teach YELP participants skills such as communication, time management, problem-solving and financial literacy. In addition, interns will also learn about job accommodations, and where they can find transportation and personal care resources. ACT! participants (ages 26 and up) will manage the smoothie venture, and YELP participants (ages 16-25) will be on the front lines making smoothies

You have the opportunity to help name the smoothie venture! Send us your name ideas on Facebook or Instagram. You will have the chance to vote on a final business name at the Alumni Smoothie Stand at Summer’s End Bash at YC on August 6 from 1-4 pm.

Team YC competed June 7-12 in the Great Lakes Adaptive Sports Association (GLASA) Great Lakes Games presented by The Hartford. This annual competition includes a variety of sports including track, swimming, powerlifting, air rifles, archery, basketball, and boccia. YC was super excited to bring seven athletes to compete in powerlifting and boccia this year.

The team arrived in Chicago in a fleet of YC vans, including our brand new van the Martha Mobile. They spent the first day exploring downtown Chicago by touring the waterfront, taking pictures at The Bean, visiting the Art Institute of Chicago, strolling through Millennium Park, and of course, sampling some deep-dish pizza! They finished the first day by watching Blake Weakland and Alex Martinez compete in the bench press event for powerlifting. Blake ended up clearing 100 pounds and Alex cleared 110! The team then headed back to the hotel for some quality team bonding with loud laughter, great music, and silly games.

On Saturday, athletes competed in the boccia tournament. Will Gallup and Bob Vitko competed in the BC1 division with Bob taking home second place and Will taking home third. Sara Steimle competed in the BC2 division against a tough field of competitors. Sean Walker and George Shepherd competed in the BC3 division with Sean taking home first place and George taking home second place. Blake Weakland also competed in the BC4 exhibition against strong opponents including former Paralympians. George, who is only 7 years old, exhibited great mental strategy and skillful execution. It will be exciting to see where his boccia career takes him!

All around, it was an amazing experience for Team YC with strong athletic showings, great new experiences in Chicago, and wonderful memories made with a truly supportive team.

“It was my hardest match of the day,” Sean said.

In the fall, George became a regular at YC programs including football! George’s excellent playing lead his team, the Spooky Western Whales, to victory and earned him the title of MVP as his adoring family cheered from the bleachers.

This spring, George found even more programs to love at Youth Challenge. In April, George hit the ice with us again during Sled Hockey at North Olmsted Recreation Center. Jimmy Abraham, YC’s Program & Athletics Coordinator shared that George “loves being a hockey player and falling on the ice.” Don’t worry, he wears a helmet!

Youth Challenge is grateful to have George as an active and bright participant. Since we met him less than a year ago, George has become such an integral part of Youth Challenge and it’s changed him, too. His dad, Matt, shared that “through Youth Challenge, George has learned to be a good teammate, practiced good sportsmanship, and has shown off his personality. For a kid like George who loves sports, but has physical challenges, Youth Challenge has given George the opportunity to compete in sports that we never thought he would be able to play.”

Board member Matt Lay can empathize with Youth Challenge participants in a unique way.

When he was just 20 years old, Matt was involved in a serious car accident. He was life-flighted and underwent surgery to remove a blood clot from his brain. After he was released from the hospital, he went through a 6-week outpatient therapy at a clinic specializing in brain injuries so that the medical staff could assess the severity of his injury. He was fortunate to have no long-term effects.

In 2014, Matt started working as the Vice President, Commercial Relationships Manager at First Federal Lakewood and attended YC events through his workplace. First Federal Lakewood has been a supporter of Youth Challenge for over 30 years. As soon as Matt first walked through the door at YC and saw the young people with disabilities engaging with volunteers, he was brought back to the therapy clinic he attended as a young adult. He decided to become a YC board member in 2019.

“I walk away from every YC event feeling energized and proud of the positive impact I have made on young people’s lives,” Matt said. “Hearing the stories of obstacles participants have overcome and all the great things YC has done to change people’s lives keeps me coming back for more.”

Matt lives in Avon with his wife Angela, and his two daughters. His oldest, Claire, is a YC volunteer. When Matthew and his family are not at YC, they enjoy visiting his parents’ summer cottage in lower Michigan. At Devil’s Lake, they all swim, kayak, water ski, paddle boat, jet ski, and enjoy slow pontoon rides.