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(11/8/19, West Sand Lake, NY) – GE Healthcare has made a substantial donation to STRIDE Adaptive Sports in support of the organization’s ongoing mission to empower people with disabilities. Their $ 6,600 donation will be allocated towards the purchase of a Cybex Bravo 8800 Advanced Compact Functional Trainer for the new SHARE Center fitness gym. This gift will help outfit the workout areas of the first-ever adaptive fitness center with specialized equipment for exercisers with mobility challenges.

GE Healthcare, a medical device manufacturer and service provider with a facility in Troy, NY and a subsidiary of General Electric Co., is committed to community engagement. GE Healthcare employees, mostly veterans, regularly volunteered to renovate the SHARE Center facility, known as the STRIDE Health and Recreation Education (SHARE) Center. The GE Healthcare volunteers completed extensive work such as electrical, building and grounds upkeep, and interior renovations. GE Healthcare has been dedicated to transforming the SHARE Center into a dynamic and inclusive space for all.

GE Healthcare’s compassion has greatly enhanced the lives of many people with special needs who would otherwise struggle to find suitable forms of exercise. In more ways than one, the company’s charitable donation will continue to inspire thousands of Capital Region residents with disabilities to exercise regularly and uphold healthy lifestyles. According to Kelly Skindzelewski, the Community Engagement Leader at GE Healthcare, “We are helping address access to care for underserved populations in a variety of ways, and are honored to be part of the inclusive efforts of STRIDE.”

In supporting the SHARE Center’s ingenuity, GE Healthcare’s contribution of time and resources to STRIDE directly assists local community members in their pursuit of accomplishing personal goals, while significantly improving their strength along the way. GE Healthcare’s donation will help to ensure the facility is fully-furnished in time for its highly anticipated opening on Veteran’s Day!

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ABOUT THE SHARE CENTER

The newly renovated STRIDE Health & Recreation Educational Center (SHARE) in West Sand Lake functions as the premiere adaptive sports and fitness community center and gym in the Capital Region! The Center provides STRIDE program participants with an array of specialized resources needed to properly exercise and maintain healthy lifestyles. The SHARE Center expands several of STRIDE’s current programs and serves as a physical space dedicated to supporting STRIDE’s mission of empowering people with special needs to sustain healthy and fun lifestyles. Through the use of life-changing sport and recreation programs, the SHARE Center will allow STRIDE to expand several of its current programs.

STRIDE ADAPTIVE SPORTS

STRIDE Adaptive Sports is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides over 11,000 adaptive sport and recreation lessons each year to individuals with disabilities, focusing on youth and combat-injured veterans. STRIDE offers programs in over 18 different sports that serve more than 2,000 families at 25+ regional locations each year. Recognized as one of the leading adaptive sport programs in the Northeastern United States, STRIDE uses specialized equipment or teaching aids for successful participation to “level the playing field” for all. For more information, call the STRIDE office at (518) 598-1279 or visit www.stride.org.

(11/11/2019, West Sand Lake, NY) –

On Veteran’s Day, the grand opening of the STRIDE Health and Recreation Education (SHARE) Center took place at the STRIDE headquarters in West Sand Lake. For the first time in Capital Region history, the newly renovated SHARE Center now functions as the premiere adaptive sports and fitness community center and gym. Many well-respected New York elected officials joined the CEO of STRIDE, Mary Ellen Whitney, in cutting the ribbon in honor of the official opening, including US Congressman Antonio Delgado, Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin, Assemblyman John McDonald, Assemblyman Jake Ashby, and several others. The generous support and donations from members of the Capital Region played a significant role in the final stages of completion, and without such backing the SHARE Center would not have been possible!

The major SHARE Center donors included: American National Insurance, Architectural Glass & Metal, STRIDE Board of Directors, Bonded Cement, Alexander Butcherblock, Crawford Door & Window Sales, Hynes Family Foundation, Keller Williams Realty, Kurt Butenhoff Family Foundation, Frank Wicks, GE Veteran’s Network, GE Healthcare, Homiack Brothers Plumbing, Farm Family Insurance, Frank Wicks, Paul O’Leary Family, Phillips Hardware,  RA Hunsdorfer Foundation, Regeneron, Studio Seven Architects, Team Rubicon, Troy Sand and Gravel, the UPS Foundation, and Wilson Brothers Heating & Cooling. Thank you to the many volunteers and companies that kindly volunteered their time and resources! STRIDE programs continue to be instrumental facets in the lives of the individuals they serve, and your support plays a significant part in this.

The SHARE Center now offers an extension of STRIDE’s current program amenities, designed with a wheelchair accessible elevator and two ADA-compliant bathrooms. The multi-program space and adaptive fitness gym provides athletes with an innovative exercise space and allows STRIDE to offer new wellness programs. Additionally, the wounded warrior/family lounge as well and additional training and conference spaces plan to host organizations that provide services like career training, chemical and addiction dependency counseling, and fitness and nutrition education. As indicated by statement made on the community’s behalf, the opening of the SHARE Center emphasized how welcomed and cherished people with disabilities are in the Capital Region. “After years of research and dedication to perfecting this project, it finally came to fruition” said Mary Ellen Whitney, the Founder and CEO of STRIDE. “The exponential growth for adaptive sports and equality carried us to the next level of being able to serve our constituents with life changing experiences.”

The remarkable patronage STRIDE received in response to the SHARE Center’s vision of inclusion and equal opportunity was inspirational! The progressive contributions made by local families and businesses enabled STRIDE to better connect with groups and individuals throughout the Capital Region by delivering opportunities for engagement and participation in recreational activities. The SHARE Center has made the Capital Region a more inclusive and accessible community for underserved individuals.

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STRIDE ADAPTIVE SPORTS

STRIDE Adaptive Sports is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides over 11,000 adaptive sport and recreation lessons each year to individuals with disabilities, focusing on youth and combat-injured veterans. STRIDE offers programs in over 18 different sports that serve more than 2,000 families at 25+ regional locations each year. Recognized as one of the leading adaptive sport programs in the Northeastern United States, STRIDE uses specialized equipment or teaching aids for successful participation to “level the playing field” for all. For more information, call the STRIDE office at (518) 598-1279 or visit www.stride.org.

“Mom! Look, look,” shouts 12-year old Jayden before plunging under the water. A few seconds later he resurfaces with a watery grin, proudly hoisting the dive toy now in his hand.

Jayden is one of the participants in the STRIDE youth swim program, now in its 19th year. “He has gained so much confidence in the two years he’s been coming here,” says his mother, Kathy Bleyman. “I’m amazed every time I see him jump into the deep end.”

The program is offered in 10-week sessions, three times per year, at the Greenbush Area YMCA pool. Each of the participants (ages 5 and up) has special needs which may include physical and/or mental disabilities.

Where the swim program excels – like all STRIDE programs – is by “meeting participants where they’re at and progressing from there,” says coordinator Emelia Carlino. “Our number one goal is to help each swimmer feel comfortable and safe in the water.”

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(Chatham, NY) –  STRIDE Adaptive Sports operates an 85 acre accessible camp located in Chatham, NY.  The camp, which had been vacant for many years, is host to many outdoor education programs for local Wounded Warriors and special needs children, to fully utilize the camping skills. STRIDE operates dozens of themed outdoor education programs and tent-camping during the summer, and pairs volunteers with STRIDE athletes with disabilities for a mentoring and rehabilitative experiences. The facility is also a retreat site used by Warriors and their families in addition to serving the hundreds of kids who participate in programs STRIDE offers tent-camping, hiking, archery, kayaking, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, and a lodge which offers a large space for trainings, seminars and retreats.

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(09/21/19, Chatham, NY) – A group of children and teens with vision impairments from the Northeastern Association of the Blind (NABA) in Albany will be coming from as far north as Amsterdam and as far south as the Kingston area to a unique summer program in Chatham that specializes in serving people with disabilities. The STRIDE Center for Outdoor Recreation Education (SCORE) at 2182 State Route 203 will welcome the youth on Saturday, September 21^st with a day of adaptive archery and yoga.

The goal of the program is to introduce the youth to new and fun activities and give them a chance to learn and experience the same recreational opportunities as their sighted peers. Archery for visually impaired requires special instruction. Certified archery coaches, lead by TSG (retired) Timothy McDonough, one of STRIDE’s Wounded Warriors; the students will use beeper sound targets and specially adapted bows for hitting the marks. TSG McDonough has competed and coached Paralympic athletes at the Warrior Games all over the world and will assist the students to learn the sport the way Olympic blind athletes shoot.  Along with McDonough, two other certified archery coaches with disabilities, and an adaptive yoga teacher will lead the activities.

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07/30/19 (West Sand Lake, NY) – Childhood obesity is on the rise and kids with disabilities tend to be less active than their classmates, but one lucky group of Capital Region kids with special needs spent their weekend in Chatham learning how exercise can be fun and encouraging.

It’s all part of an outdoor camping weekend called “Music and Movement,” and the goal is to make exercise more accessible for people with intellectual and physical disabilities. Music and Movement is offered every summer by STRIDE Adaptive Sports, a nonprofit organization that works to make life in the Capital Region more fun, healthy, and inclusive for people with disabilities. It’s one of six themed camping weekends at the STRIDE SCORE Camp in Chatham. Continue reading →

07/23/19 (West Sand Lake, NY) – STRIDE Adaptive Sports announced today that Kim Wilson of Slingerlands has been named the organization’s Volunteer of the Year for 2019. Kim, who is the parent of STRIDE athlete and sled hockey player Luke Wilson, was given the award for founding the STRIDE sled hockey team, bringing it to new heights of recognition and success, and tirelessly supporting other STRIDE programs such as whitewater rafting and skiing.

According to Megan Evans, STRIDE’s Program Director, “Kim is truly the definition of a team player. Ten years ago, the Bethlehem Eagles were a fledgling hockey team for kids with mobility challenges.  Kim reached out to STRIDE to help grow the program she began and today The Capital District Sled Warriors, STRIDE’s only team sport, is an unqualified success.  She has continuously been the absolute best hockey mom for the past 10 years. Her dedication is an inspiration to the entire organization.” Continue reading →

Posted by Nora Kipp  09/30/19

Forget everything you think you know about Sled Hockey because the Capital District Sled Warriors is a program like no other! If you pride yourself on teamwork and positivity, this is the perfect sports team for you. From October to April, the team meets weekly on Sundays from 11:00 to 12:00 p.m.. Practices are held on weekends at the Albany County Hockey Facility ice rink, with tournaments and games scheduled throughout the late winter and early spring.

Twelve years ago, the team (originally Bethlehem Sled Hockey) was founded by Tom and Kim Wilson of Slingerlands for their son and local teenagers with physical ailments. They wanted nothing more than to make hockey accessible to those with lower limb disabilities. STRIDE Adaptive Sports took over the team in 2009, and the sport has continued to grow in popularity ever since. If you live in the Capital Region, we invite you to join a practice to see what all the fun is all about! 

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Posted by Nora Kipp  09/16/19

Calling all volunteers…

Please join us on Wednesday, September 18th, at 6:00 PM at June Farms, 275 Parker Road in West Sand Lake, to celebrate all the amazing work our program volunteers do to make STRIDE all that it is today! 

There is no admission cost and the first 50 active volunteers to RSVP with Megan will receive their first beverage and personal wood fire pizza on us! Thereafter, while supplies last, drinks are also on us!!!

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Posted by Nora Kipp 09/06/19

Tomorrow is Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) day. DMD is a genetic disorder that is characterized by progressive muscular deterioration and weakness. Although there is no cure, physical therapy and medications can significantly help to control symptoms and improve quality of life.

I recently read an article that shares the struggles that two strong individuals face every day. Shawn and Deb Jenssen are the parents of two young girls living with Duchenne. Their remarkable story highlights the importance of understanding that disabilities affect everyone ‒ from the person living with it to those who care for them. You can check it out here!

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