Issue # 11 November 2015

EVERY CHILD
DESERVES
A CHANCE
TO PLAY
They Can Bike!!!
The Newsletter of The Miracle League of CT
Autumn 2015
Volume 11
“I can do it”!!! That was the cry heard from almost
40 new bicycle riders by the end of the week at the
iCan Bike camp that was held at Conard High School in West Hartford from July 27 - 31. iCan Bike is an
intensive day camp that runs for 5 days over a one week period. The national not for profit group iCan
Shine travels across the country with their patented apparatus and unique teaching methods that have
helped thousands of children with special needs learn to ride a two wheel bicycle independently. For the
past 3 years The Miracle League of CT has been proud to be the financial sponsor for the program that has
been run by the town of West Hartford. After this year’s camp the town’s Leisure Services department
asked if The Miracle League would be interested in taking over the program completely. We jumped at the
opportunity since it fits like a glove with our mission which is to provide children with special needs more
recreational opportunities to enrich their lives. The 2016 iCan Bike camp is scheduled for July 25-29. The
Miracle League of CT will handle all aspects of the program for the first time next summer. Please keep an
eye on our website for registration information for next year’s camp if you are interested.
University of Hartford Hawks Support The Miracle League of CT
Once again The Miracle League of CT was able to count on the
great help from the University of Hartford students and athletes.
The Hawks baseball, softball and women’s basketball teams all
came out this fall to assist our players as buddies. The athletes
who are all juggling busy schedules to start with, take some time
each Saturday in the fall to join us. They all convey to us that
they get just as much out of the experience as our players do. In
addition to being buddies for our baseball players, the Hartford
Hawks Baseball team also puts on a car wash each fall. This
year’s event was held on Saturday October 10th after being
rained out the week before. The team
raised more that $750 which was matched
by our friends from the Wealth Management
Group of North America for a total of $1520
for the Miracle League of CT. Thank you to
all of the athletes and coaches Justin Blood
of the baseball team, Sarah Kalka of the
softball team and Jen Rizzotti of the Hawks
women’s basketball team.
2015 MIRACLE LEAGUE OF CT GOLF CLASSIC A HUGE SUCCESS
More than 120 golfers turned out at the Wampanoag Country Club on
Tuesday June 2nd to raise money and awareness for the Miracle League of
CT. Mother Nature was not completely cooperative but all golfers were able
to get their full rounds in on a chilly and slightly damp day. The incredible
grounds crew and entire staff at Wampanoag should be commended for
having the course in great shape considering the weather the day before
and the morning of the golf outing. Each of the golfers were greeted as they
pulled up with a goodie bag courtesy of the golf tournament’s title sponsor
Great American Donut Inc. The bags contained delicious ground Dunkin’
Donut coffee, a travel mug and more golf and coffee related items. After
registering for the day, golfers were able to choose a thank you gift package
worth approximately $150 from the Nike golf store that was set up in the
lobby of the golf course. After a great buffet breakfast the golfers hit the
course for the day. On the course they were treated to delicious beverages
and snacks courtesy of Dunkin’ Donuts, and Broken Shed Vodka. The
players were able to have lunch on the go as they made the turn on the 9th
hole and then headed back out to complete their rounds. Upon completion
of their rounds they were greeted on the putting green by some of the
Miracle League of CT
baseball players. The Miracle League players were autographing their very own baseball trading cards for the golfers
in the club house as they enjoyed the cocktail hour and bid on
our many silent auction items. The golfers were joined by
some of our Miracle League players and their families for a
wonderful buffet dinner during which our live auction items
were snapped up by some generous bidders. A Max Downtown dinner party, an incredible Red Sox vs. Yankees weekend at Fenway, a football autographed by Super Bowl MVP
Tom Brady and a unique in home dining experience courtesy
of Cugino’s of Farmington chef Mario Cirikovic all went for big
dollars with the help from our guest auctioneer Ray Dunaway
of WTIC 1080 AM radio. The support of our sponsor’s and golfers was overwhelming. A record setting
$81,000 was raised at the year’s tournament due to the generosity of all who attended. The funds raised
will allow us to continue to expand the programs that we offer to the children and families that we serve. In
addition, we are moving closer each day to being able to build more Miracle League fields in the state, so
that anyone will be able to participate without having to travel great distances.
Planning is already underway for next
year’s golf classic. Mark your calendars
now for our return to Wampanoag Country
Club on Tuesday June 7th, 2016. We’ve
set a goal to crack the six figure mark for
next year’s event. With your help we know
we can do it. If you own or work for a civic
minded business or corporation who might
be interested in becoming a golf classic
sponsor, please contact us by email at
[email protected]
for more information or to have one of our
sponsorship packets sent to you. Check
our website for more info as next year’s
date draws near.
TITLE SPONSOR
TEE SPONSORS
Great American Donut, Inc. Avon Village Family Dentistry
A Dunkin’ Donuts Franchisee
Donahue Brothers, LLC
Donato & Sons Landscape Contractors
PRINTING SPONSOR
E. Haberli Electric, LLC
Joseph Merritt & Company, Inc.
Employers Reference Source, Inc.
Energy Solutions
PRESENTING SPONSORS
Expense Consulting
Johnny’s Jog for Charity
Farmington Bank
LUNCHEON SPONSORS
Friends of Jamie
Kevin’s Kourt
Harry's Bishop's Corner
MDC
Jackson Lewis, PC
Nationwide
Kroll Family
Leone, Throwe, Teller & Nagle
BEVERAGE CART SPONSORS
Marketing Solutions Unlimited, LLC
CohnReznick
Meg Green
SpotWine
Nutmeg International Trucks
APPAREL SPONSORS
Reid & Riege, PC
Airport Road Autobody
Shop Rite of West Hartford
CWPM, LLC
Suburban Stationers
Great American Donut, Inc.
Ted's Plumbing & Heating
Hartford Wolfpack Community Foundation
Wolf Family
J&J Coffee Services, LLC
Katherine and Victor Worry
May, Bonee & Walsh
Schaller Auto World Fund of the Community Foundation DONORS
of Greater New Britain
Lenore & Philip Weisinger
TD Bank
Morbro Company - Dave Morse
Turbine Controls, Inc.
Nutmeg International Trucks
Rita and Alan Gold
CONTEST SPONSORS
Carmon Funeral Homes
Additional Thanks to all of our auction donors
Manafort Brothers
and to all of our volunteers who contributed
Towers Watson
to the success of a fantastic day.
Wells Fargo Advisors - Goldberg, Yolles & Lepore
Special thanks to our honorary co-chairs Jen Rizzotti and Kevin Ollie
Miracle League of CT Forms Advisory Board
The Miracle League of CT invited a number of outstanding
Miracle League of CT Advisory Board
people from throughout the state from different fields to
become members of the Miracle League of CT Advisory
Jim Capodeice
Patrick Ladd
Board. We are honored that the people in the list on the
Dan
&
Kelly
Clark
Dan & Laura Moran
right have accepted our invitation. They are leaders in their
Janet
Connolly
Kevin Nathan
fields who can offer guidance to our Board of Directors.
Ted Crew
They represent the business, health, sports, education,
Paul Pendergast
Tom Farrey
medical, media and not for profit communities. In addition
Tim Restall
they come from different parts of the state who can help us Joe Giangreco
Jen Rizzotti
to spread the word about our work to those who may not be Barbara Glassman-Dell Dr. Sheetal Sood
familiar with us. The Advisory Board will meet once or twice Ian Hockley
Joe Wendover
per year to serve as a sounding board for the Miracle
Tesha Imperati
League. Most of the Advisory Board members have been
supportive of us in the past in many ways. Their presence on the board will allow us to continue those relationships and to foster some new ones. In addition, members will serve as ambassadors for the Miracle
League of CT in both their personal and professional communities. Each person offers unique viewpoints
and experiences that can truly benefit the Miracle League. On behalf of all of the children and families that
we serve we thank you all for becoming a part of the Miracle League family.
Please Consider a Year-End Donation to the Miracle League of CT
As the Miracle League of CT continues to grow and we increase the
number of programs that we offer to the children and families that we
serve, our financial need grows also. We hope that you will consider a
year end donation to The Miracle League of CT. Every dollar of your tax
deductible donation goes into more equipment, more programs and more
opportunities for children with special needs. In addition, it will help us to
build up our field construction fund so that we can reach our ultimate goal
of helping other towns to build more Miracle League fields throughout the
state. We would love it if we had fields located in other parts of the state
so that everyone can enjoy all that we offer in the Hartford area within a
reasonable drive from their homes. You can donate directly online via our
website at www.miracleleaguect.org/donate or if you prefer, you may mail
your donations to the address on the back of this newsletter.
Next Session of Miracle League Adapted Swim Lessons in January
We are so happy to once again be offering Miracle League Adapted Swim
Lessons in conjunction with the Mandell JCC in West Hartford. The next
session will run for 4 weeks from Jan. 9-30 on Saturday afternoons. The
registration process has been simplified this session. You may register via
the Miracle League website by using our EZ Reg link. This is the same
site that we use for our baseball registration, so if you have registered in
the past, all you need to do is click on your child’s name and click register.
If you are new to Miracle League programs you will need to create an account and then register. We are
offering Begin to Swim I for children ages 5-8 and Begin to Swim II for children 9-18. Both classes will cover
the basics of water safety and will focus on comfort and confidence building in the water. All participants
must be accompanied in the water by a parent or designated adult. Class size is limited, registration will be
honored on a first come first serve basis. Visit our website www.miracleleaguect.org/swim for more info and
to register. Click on Play and then Swim.
THANK YOU
TO ALL OF THE BUSINESSES,
CIVIC GROUPS AND FAMILIES
WHO HELPED MAKE
TRICK-OR-TREAT
MIRACLE LEAGUE STYLE
SUCH A SPECIAL DAY
Autism Families Connecticut
Blue Devil Aquatics
CT Autism Speaks Community
California Pizza Kitchen
Camp Hemlocks
Channel 3 Kids Camp
Dave And Busters
Dunkin’ Donuts
Enterprise Holdings Inc.
Hart Real Estate
Hartford Yard Goats
Hawk Hall Helpers (UHART)
Hulafrog
International Auto Service Center
Johnny’s Jog for Charity
Macca Plumbing
Michaud Family
Mooyah
Oak Hill School
Once Upon a Fairy Tale CT
Santos Family
Schaller Auto
Seamus Painting
SEPTO
Stockman & Leo Families
Stretch -Pediatric Therapy and
Creative Movement Studio
Special Olympics West Hartford
The Gengras Center
The Miale Team at Keller Williams
The Moose Lodge of Hartford #723
The Neat Center at Oak Hill
The River 105.9 & iHeart Radio
The Talcott Center
University of Hartford Baseball
University of Hartford Softball
UHART Women’s Basketball
W. H. Amateur Baseball Assn.
West Hartford Little League
West Hartford Press
Whole Foods (WH Center)
Wingstop
Wyllyss – St. John’s Lodge No. 4
MLCT Player Profile - Meet Rebecca Santos
Rebecca is 12 years old and lives in West Hartford with her parents and 2 older brothers. Rebecca
plays spring baseball in the Miracle League and was on the Bros. Associates Sea Dogs this year. She is a
6th grader at Sedgwick Middle School.
Rebecca has multiple disabilities and a seizure disorder and is a happy, smiley little girl. Her biggest
smiles occur when she is with her friends and family. Rebecca has nothing but smiles once she gets to the
Miracle League field because she is fortunate to have friends and
family on the field! Rebecca’s 2 older brothers, Ryan and Nicolas,
are buddies in the league. Since they both love to work and play
with her, Rebecca can usually be seen on the field with 2 buddies
during games!
Being a Miracle League player has allowed Rebecca to be
with peers, throw and catch a ball (which she loves!), and spend
some quality time with her big brothers while playing on a “real”
field in a baseball jersey and hat. She has spent years watching
Ryan and Nic play and now she is able to have her turn. She’s
treated just like everyone else at the games. She doesn’t need a
paraprofessional, teacher, or peers to direct her. No one treats her
differently because of her challenges. She’s just one of the kids
doing what kids do.
The Miracle League has been equally fantastic for us as parents. We are able to sit back and not
only watch Rebecca being a typical kid, but also watch all 3 of our kids interacting, laughing, and having a
blast. We can just be proud and happy parents. It’s also a great feeling to know that the other families are
in similar situations as we are so they aren’t judging us, wondering why Rebecca may be doing something
the way she does, etc. and they understand our challenges.
When we first heard about the Miracle League, we weren’t sure if Rebecca would be able to do it.
We didn’t want her to hold back the players that really knew the game of baseball. Ronit Shoham spent a
big chunk of her evening convincing us this would be perfect for Rebecca. She was so right! We are so
grateful to Ronit for that phone call and to her, Scott Franklin, Mike Michaud, and all the volunteers that
make this league happen. It is an amazing experience and program. There isn’t a game that goes by where
we aren’t smiling on our faces and in our hearts with tears streaming for our eyes. It’s been a true gift for
our entire family, one which we will never forget and always appreciate.
The Miracle League of CT would be nothing without it’s “buddies”
The Miracle League Spring season was our biggest ever and
we had an overwhelming need for extra Buddies. We asked for more
help and our request was answered by so many great people and
groups who volunteered as Buddies. Thank you to each and every
one of you for spending some time with us.
In addition to all of our fantastic individual buddies, we owe a
huge thank you to the Varsity Baseball Teams from Farmington, Avon,
Hall, Newington & Simsbury High Schools for volunteering their teams
as Buddies. We also had St Timothy’s Middle School and Terryville
Little League and Softball Teams volunteer with us as well.
An extra big thank you to West Hartford Little League player
Jack Kinney who volunteered to come every Sunday morning before
our games. He did a great job cleaning up our field and also putting
out our Miracle League parking signs.
We can’t do what we do without the help of our buddies, they
play such an important role in our games and make such a big impact
on our players. So many of our Buddies return every year, forming
very special bonds with our players.
Miracle League Teammates
We would like to express our sincere appreciation to the following people & organizations
who have contributed to the Miracle League of Connecticut since our last newsletter
All Stars ($0-$499)
Carla & Joe Blincoe
(in memory of Alexander Levy)
Tom Brackett
Duffy Family
Rita Sue & Alan Gold
(in honor of Marcus Apter)
McCormick Family
Mary-Lynn Michaud
MJP Systems
Moran Family
Nutmeg International Trucks Inc.
In Memory of Oliva Family
Leo & Lorraine Pinsky
Simmons Family
Charles & Jayne Urso
Philip & Lenore Weisinger
Peter Graber-Lipperman
Gintare Grenier
Houpert Family
Andrew Krevolin & Debra Eyges MVP ($500-$999)
(In honor of Scott & Ronit Shoham) First Church of Christ Congregational
Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth Levine
Ladd Family
Laurie Lewis
Wentworth, DeAngelis & Kauffman Inc.
Marino Family
Please consider a tax deductible
donation to the Miracle League of
Connecticut. Every dollar you donate
brings us one step closer to making
more Miracles happen.
Champions ($1000+)
Krichavsky Famsily in memory of their
parents Robert & Kay Krichavsky
Mitchell and Robin Pozez Advised Fund
of the Jewish Community Foundation
of Southern Arizona in Gratitude of
the Generosity of Scott LaBonte
We continue to raise funds to support
and expand programming.
In addition, we are working to build
more Miracle League fields
throughout the state.
Sensory Friendly Performance of
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer The Musical
The Bushnell Auditorium is presenting its first ever sensory
friendly performance. On Sunday December 13th at 10am
come out to see Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer –The
Musical. Imagine your childhood favorite animated special
live on stage. This is a unique opportunity for families who
have children with special needs to enjoy a live performance
in a friendly setting. The Bushnell consulted with local not
for profits and state agencies to help plan and market this
great event. Sensory-friendly performances are designed to
create a performing arts experience that is welcoming to all
families and friends with children or adults who are diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder or other
sensitivity issues. The Miracle League of CT is proud to be one of the supporting groups for this show.
Please visit our website for more details and for a link to purchase tickets, or go directly to the Bushnell
website www.bushnell.org to order. Be sure to use the code SENSORY15 when purchasing.
A Place for Parents to Share News and Ideas
To make new website as user friendly and informative as possible, we’ve
included a new feature called Parents Corner. This space is for parents of
our Miracle League program participants to submit links, stories, ideas, news
about upcoming events outside of The Miracle League that could be helpful
to other parents. Under the media tab, you will see the page for the Parents
Corner. At the bottom of that page you will find a link to a form to submit
your ideas. Our only restrictions are that items submitted are not political, or
religiously oriented. We also do not use this space to promote for profit
businesses. This is your space Parents to share anything that you think
would benefit our other families. Share your ideas by linking directly to the
Parents’ Corner at www.miracleleaguect.org/parents-corner.
The Miracle League of CT
PO Box 331223
West Hartford CT
06133-1223
Upcoming Events
Parents’ Night Out
Saturday 12/5 7pm
Sensory Friendly Performance of
Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer
Bushnell Auditorium 12/13 10am
Miracle League of CT
Adapted Swim Lessons
Begin 1/9/2016
Spring Season 2016
Registration begins 2/1/2016
www.miracleleaguect.org
email: [email protected]
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www.facebook.com/TheMiracleLeagueofCT