Rea & Associates Nonprofit Executive Director of the Year Award
It’s not too often that people get a chance to enjoy sports and activities like skiing, horseback riding, kayaking and rock climbing, but for the disabled, that chance is few and far between. However, Mary Sue Tanis took her dream of offering those activities to kids who are disabled and made it a reality.
Tanis graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1976 with a degree in recreation therapy and took a passion for outdoor sports and her concern that there were too few recreational activities for the disabled and founded Youth Challenge.
Youth Challenge is a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing together children with physical disabilities and youth volunteers who enrich each other’s lives through one-on-one participation in a variety of adapted sports and recreational activities.
Tanis, founder and executive director of Youth Challenge, relies on the charitable donations of businesses and anyone willing to support her cause to provide yearlong activities, social networks and friendships to kids, ages 4 to 18, with physical disabilities.
The program is free and is aided by the help of teenage volunteers who give their time to help these kids. The volunteers, ages 12 to 18, are seasonally trained by professionals and peers to work with disabled children. The volunteers donate more than 7,700 hours of service.
Youth Challenge provides year-round adapted sports and activities, such as bowling, horseback riding, swimming, skiing, kayaking, rock climbing, basketball, tennis, arts and crafts, music, and more. In 2009, Youth Challenge served more than 150 participants with disabilities such as cerebral palsy, spina bifida, muscular dystrophy and sensory impairments with the help of more than 350 teen volunteers at 183 program activities.
Thirty-four years ago, Youth Challenge was just a small volunteer program under the auspices of the Fairview Park Recreation Department, but today, the program has expanded to include all of Greater Cleveland. Youth Challenge even provides the kids with a ride in one of seven lift-equipped vans. In 2009, more than 4,900 rides to and from programs were provided for participants.
Tanis has also been establishing an outreach plan to expand Youth Challenge’s involvement into existing and new communities through partnerships with municipal school districts, medical centers, physical therapy clinics, physicians, nurses, therapists, and community groups and organizations to bring needed activities and services to the physically disabled children who can benefit from the program.
Tanis incorporated a staff of nine employees in 1983, which has helped Youth Challenge grow and continue to provide disabled kids with lifelong memories and friendships.
HOW TO REACH: Youth Challenge, (440) 892-1001 or www.youthchallengesports.com
