Philadelphia, PA- On Saturday, August 16th, children with disabilities between the ages of 4 and 21, their parents, and siblings attended United Spinal’s 4th Annual Kids Sports Spectacular at Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, PA.

Over 160 participants and family members came together to make this a special day that one young participant called "One of the best days in my life.”

The sounds of laughter and excited voices echoed through the Wachovia Center as kids and their family members joined in and took part in events such as wheelchair tennis, basketball, power soccer, hand-cycling, hockey, bowling, and wheelchair ballroom dancing.

For many of the kids this was their first exposure to activities such as these. Coaches and volunteers worked with the children, instructed them, and had them in the thick of things in no time at all. There was certainly no coaching needed when it came to making new friends, sharing, and wearing big smiles. Those things all came naturally.

The excitement kept up during lunch as International Motivational Speaker Scott Chesney moved the children with his presentation and US Paralympian Laura Schwanger inspired them with her can do attitude and energy.

The 2008 Kids Sports Spectacular is a non-competitive event where every child is a winner and everyone benefits from the experience:

“We just wanted to thank everyone for an amazing program on Saturday. This was our first year attending the Kids Sports Spectacular. The event was very well organized and truly inspirational on so many levels. Our son Dylan is a sports fanatic. He participates in Challenger Baseball, but there really are few other organized teams he is able to join. As parents we are not always exposed to the possibilities, but your event really opened our eyes. Please pass our thanks on to the many volunteers, coaches and sponsors for the event. It was a great day.”

“In these troubled times, it is heartwarming to know there are so many people and organizations devoted to help & cheer others, especially kids that use wheelchairs.”

“I really like the opportunity for my daughter to try new activities and meet new people.”

“We all had fun. Thank you for having us here. This is a dream come true for Lincoln. It’s really touched my heart to see my son enjoying himself.”

“This has been an absolute delight. My brother has the biggest smile on his face. I’ve never seen him so happy. In the fall, he’ll be playing basketball and in the spring we’ll sign him up for track. I wish we would have been involved sooner. I’m glad we know now.”

“I really want to say Thank you! Thanks to all the sponsors and the people who made this happen. Thanks to the volunteers who help my little brother enjoy such a wonderful experience. This event opened my eyes and my brother’s as well to all the possibilities and activities he can join. We will stay active and support this Spectacular.”

The event was made possible through grants from Comcast-Spectacor, Bayada Nurses, and CVS Caremark. A free lunch was provided by Aramark.

“The thrill we see in the eyes of these kids inspires us over and over again and all of us at United Spinal are proud to partner with Comcast Spectacor and Global Spectrum for this important event,” said Paul J. Tobin, United Spinal Association President and CEO.

“This was a terrific opportunity for children with disabilities and their families to gather and share in fun and entertaining experiences,” said John Page, Global Spectrum chief operating officer. “In addition, it was a very educational experience for us on the arena-operating side as these types of events help us learn how to better service the disability community.”

“Incredible!! My heart and spirit were touched in a way that I could have never imagined. Inspiring in every way from beginning to end. Count me in for next year. I can’t wait! Thank you for an opportunity to participate!”
Bayada Nurses

ABOUT UNITED SPINAL ASSOCIATION
United Spinal is dedicated to improving the life of all Americans with spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis, spina bifida, ALS and post polio. Guided by the belief that the benefits of athletic competition are no different for athletes with disabilities than without disabilities, the Association sponsors a wide variety of wheelchair recreational and adaptive sports programs. For more information about the organization and its programs, please visit or call our toll-free number, 800-404-2898.

ABOUT COMCAST-SPECTACOR
Comcast-Spectacor is the Philadelphia-based sports and entertainment company which owns the Philadelphia Flyers (NHL), the Philadelphia 76ers (NBA), the Philadelphia Phantoms (AHL), the two arenas in which their teams play, the Wachovia Center and Wachovia Spectrum, four Flyers Skate Zone community ice skating and hockey rinks and Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia. In addition, Comcast-Spectacor is also the principal owner of Global Spectrum, the fastest growing firm in the public assembly management field with more than 70 facilities throughout the United States and Canada; Ovations Food Services, a food and beverage service provider; New Era Tickets, a ticketing and marketing company for public assembly facilities; Front Row Marketing Services, a commercial rights sales company; and 3601 Creative Group, a full-service in-house advertising agency. In a partnership with Disson Skating, Comcast-Spectacor annually produces 10 nationally televised figure skating spectaculars on NBC.

United Spinal would like to thank the following organizations and individuals for their support and participation in the 2008 Kids Sports Spectacular:

Comcast Spectacor & the entire Wachovia Center Family
Bayada Nurses
Aramark
CVS Caremark
Campbell Soup
Pepsi Bottling Group of Philadelphia
Modell’s Sporting Goods
Wegmans Supermarkets
Magee Rehabilitation’s Wheelchair Basketball & Power Soccer teams
American Ballroom Dancing Foundation
Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation

Our Volunteers from across the Delaware Valley, Parents, Family Members, Friends and of course… The KIDS!

Tom Scott
Editor
Marketing & Communications
75-20 Astoria Blvd.
Jackson Heights, NY 11370-1177
718-803-3782 ext. 239
www.unitedspinal.org

This entry was posted on Friday, August 22nd, 2008 at 5:17 am and is filed under Kids Events, Techguide Newsticker, United Spinal News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.