New campus group “Rally Cap JCU” works with children with disabilities
By: Elissa Filozof
John Carroll University has recently opened its own chapter of the organization Rally Cap. According to junior Sarah Rothschild, Rally Cap is a “non-profit organization that provides a sports program to people with special needs. Our mission is to create positive sports environments, fostering social integration, healthy living and greater self-confidence for children and young adults with special needs.”
Rothschild, who was first inspired to get involved in the program by a friend who participated in Rally Cap events at another university, was a key player in helping to raise interest for the organization as well as for the disabled community at John Carroll.
Rally Cap was founded in 1990 as “Challenged Youth Sports,” but, in 2014, received its current name. “The first chapter began at Bowling Green State University,” says Rothschild, “and has served as a model for a number of other chapters as Rally Cap continues to grow across the country.”
Thanks to her initiative and that of a few others, John Carroll started hosting Rally Cap sports this spring 2017 semester.
Participants in the organization, called Rally Players, and volunteers from the host university meet every Sunday for one hour to play a variety of sports like basketball, soccer and volleyball.
Rothschild explains, “We recently had our kickoff event on Feb. 12 that had different sports stations set up for Rally Players to play with JCU volunteers. Both the Rally Players and parents were very appreciative and said they have been looking for a sports program like this for a long time.”
Rothschild continued by saying, “It was so humbling to see the smiles on the kids’ faces because for some of them, it was their first time trying these activities. Right now, we are in the middle of our basketball season, which will end right before spring break. After spring break, we will start up another sports session.”
Rally Cap reaches out to various John Carroll sports teams, recruiting athletes to take part in the activities as volunteers. If, for example, the scheduled sport for a particular weekend is soccer, Rally Cap volunteers will ask if members of both the Men’s and Women’s soccer teams are able to arrive in their uniforms and spend some time playing and interacting with the Rally Players.
Rothschild wanted to bring the program to John Carroll after hearing about its activities at Bowling Green. She believes it has truly been impactful already at JCU, even though it is only in its second semester.
“After events, I feel such satisfaction because not only are the kids learning from us, but we are learning from them,” she says. “They have inspired me to always have a smile on my face every through the hardest times. These children go through tough challenges and to give them a place to have fun and enjoy really is more of a blessing for me than it is for the families. I am proud to be creating a community that is helping others.”
If you would like more information or to find out how you can get involved with Rally Cap, please contact Sarah Rothschild at srothschild18@jcu.edu or the organization’s email at jcu@rallycapsports.org.
Rothschild says, “We encourage anyone who has or not had experience with working with the special needs community to participate. We invite everybody.”
