River City Buddy Ball ("RCBB") is the cart before horse. The athletic program was established years before the idea of Jacob's chance....I have always said that RCBB is the pathway to the center.
The idea of Jacob's Chance developed over years of listening to the families that participated in the athletic program. I would walk around during practices and games and ask questions to learn about day in and day out life. My thought is if I better understand the children and what they need I could make the program more successful. What I learned is that they need more than a once a week outlet.
I really gain knowledge when several families start talking about life in group settings. I am like a sponge and I am absorbing, absorbing. After talking with a family at a basketball practice I was driving home with my youngest son filling his head with what I just learned. I said " Ryan I just want to help and do more other than sports. The families are scared for their kids when they get older. When they become teenagers. There is no place for them to socialize." Ryan said "Why don't you open a rec center mom?" Well that was too easy. I was over thinking and Ryan hit the nail on the head with the first swing of the hammer.
After trying to put groups of people together to start brainstorming I could see the mission was going to be difficult. I'm not sure they really thought that I could make it happen. To be honest I didn't either. Personal crisis was taking the front seat in my life and I knew I could not focus or give my time to this idea. It was not the time.
A divorce, moving in with parents and changing jobs happened and my life changed. The only thing that did not change was my passion for the rec center. The Buddy Ball program continued and great things were happening. We were growing. Buddy Ball was my anchor, the one thing in my life that was bringing me joy. Unconditional joy.
One of the partners at the job I had just started listened to my stories and could see my passion. A good business man that had a non profit kind of heart said why don't you just do it. Stop talking about it and do it. Ken Dance helped me put things in motion. After searching and talking about names we finally named it. Jacob's Chance.......
A side bar about name and how it came to be.....A good friend, Terri Retzke was a part of my journey with Buddy Ball in the beginning. She had a son Jacob who passed before I had the chance to meet him. Jacob had physical challenges but that did not stop Jacob from riding horses or playing soccer or riding a bike. I never had the privilege of meeting Jacob but through Terri and others I felt like I knew him. For me Jacob represents all the children who do not let physical or intellectual challenges get in the way of them living and doing things that "typical" kids do. Through socialization and other programs Jacobs spirit, as well as other children who have passed too soon, will thrive through the center.
If I had never been apart of the Buddy Ball program and grew even more passionate for the children and the parents, if I had not listened, I would not have learned of the true need for Jacob's Chance. This is how the program came before the idea of the center. RCBB is the program, the path that lead to the bigger picture of socialization and awareness.
I picture a house, Jacob's Chance and a path, RCBB leading to it. Just one of many programs that will lead back to Jacob's Chance.
The idea of Jacob's Chance developed over years of listening to the families that participated in the athletic program. I would walk around during practices and games and ask questions to learn about day in and day out life. My thought is if I better understand the children and what they need I could make the program more successful. What I learned is that they need more than a once a week outlet.
I really gain knowledge when several families start talking about life in group settings. I am like a sponge and I am absorbing, absorbing. After talking with a family at a basketball practice I was driving home with my youngest son filling his head with what I just learned. I said " Ryan I just want to help and do more other than sports. The families are scared for their kids when they get older. When they become teenagers. There is no place for them to socialize." Ryan said "Why don't you open a rec center mom?" Well that was too easy. I was over thinking and Ryan hit the nail on the head with the first swing of the hammer.
After trying to put groups of people together to start brainstorming I could see the mission was going to be difficult. I'm not sure they really thought that I could make it happen. To be honest I didn't either. Personal crisis was taking the front seat in my life and I knew I could not focus or give my time to this idea. It was not the time.
A divorce, moving in with parents and changing jobs happened and my life changed. The only thing that did not change was my passion for the rec center. The Buddy Ball program continued and great things were happening. We were growing. Buddy Ball was my anchor, the one thing in my life that was bringing me joy. Unconditional joy.
One of the partners at the job I had just started listened to my stories and could see my passion. A good business man that had a non profit kind of heart said why don't you just do it. Stop talking about it and do it. Ken Dance helped me put things in motion. After searching and talking about names we finally named it. Jacob's Chance.......
A side bar about name and how it came to be.....A good friend, Terri Retzke was a part of my journey with Buddy Ball in the beginning. She had a son Jacob who passed before I had the chance to meet him. Jacob had physical challenges but that did not stop Jacob from riding horses or playing soccer or riding a bike. I never had the privilege of meeting Jacob but through Terri and others I felt like I knew him. For me Jacob represents all the children who do not let physical or intellectual challenges get in the way of them living and doing things that "typical" kids do. Through socialization and other programs Jacobs spirit, as well as other children who have passed too soon, will thrive through the center.
If I had never been apart of the Buddy Ball program and grew even more passionate for the children and the parents, if I had not listened, I would not have learned of the true need for Jacob's Chance. This is how the program came before the idea of the center. RCBB is the program, the path that lead to the bigger picture of socialization and awareness.
I picture a house, Jacob's Chance and a path, RCBB leading to it. Just one of many programs that will lead back to Jacob's Chance.
Great things are happening!
Kate Tilley
President of Jacob's Chance
