For one of Riverdale Country School’s (NY) community service days in November 2018, Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) hosted a wheelchair basketball clinic to raise awareness about physical disabilities. Administrators connected with CAF—an organization that supports people with physical challenges to pursue fitness and competitive athletics—through a family from the school who was interested in their work. During the basketball clinic, some lower school students experienced what it’s like to play using wheelchairs alongside several hundred visiting athletes.
In May 2019, CAF athletes returned and participated in a field day with relays, flag football, and dodgeball. Two former Paralympic athletes, Rudy Garcia-Tolson and Roderick Sewell, who are both above-the-knee amputees, bested some of Riverdale’s top athletes in a relay race. During their visit, the athletes shared their stories, including how they became disabled—circumstances ranging from congenital defects to complications from surgeries and accidents.
In addition to its advocacy work, CAF also hosts clinics where children and young adults are fitted for running blades that allow many of them to run for the first time—something that might not otherwise be possible because blades are prohibitively expensive and not covered by insurance. Riverdale is hosting one of these clinics this spring for individuals and families in the area. They also plan to invite CAF athletes to spend a week training with students to help destigmatize physical disabilities and showcase the ingenuity and resilience of the human spirit.
Riverdale Country School volunteers spend the day with local athletes at a fly-fishing camp on the Gallatin River in Montana.
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