“Everyone deserves to enjoy the outdoors in ways that make them feel invigorated, connected, and alive.” – Why I Love Working with WAS

by Don

If you’ve chatted with me in the past few years, you know why I love this organization as much as I do. We provide access to the outdoors for more than 1,000 people with disabilities every year across 10 sports – including my personal favorites of skiing and mountain biking. 

I started volunteering with WAS four years ago, where I met Kerry – pictured below on a bike with a big beard and a bigger smile. Kerry was a veteran and amputee who loved to cycle, mountain bike, and ski with WAS. On my first day as a volunteer, he asked me what my role with the nonprofit was.

“I’m just a volunteer” I told him. Kerry disagreed with my word choice. 

“Don’t say ‘just a volunteer!’” he said. “After I lost my leg I was very bitter and angry with the world, and with myself. Biking and skiing with WAS gave me my life back. Everyone who is a part of this place plays an important role, especially volunteers. Be proud of what you’re doing here.” If you knew Kerry, you remember his warm demeanor and lovely sense of humor. When I met him, he was wearing a shirt that said “I really thought my other leg would have grown back by now!” Simply put, his inviting affect was infectious. He was a man that at had been through a lot, but had found peace within himself – and WAS was a part of that peace.

Kerry never got to know that this conversation changed the direction of my life. Soon after, I made the decision to pursue a career in human service. I was admitted to the social work master’s program at the University of Utah, and was set to teach ski lessons with WAS before school started – but before classes began, WAS offered me the role of communications manager, which aligned with my work experience and education, and most importantly my passion for the outdoors. Skiing and mountain biking aren’t just “hobbies” in my life – they are part of my reason for being. I decided to stick with WAS, and offered up my seat at the U to another applicant. I never looked back – the job was a wonderful marriage of purpose, outdoor sports, and what I knew I was great at – storytelling. It was my Ikigai – a Japanese concept I encourage you to research if you have the time.

Not long after I had joined WAS as a full-time staff member in 2022, I learned that Kerry had unexpectedly passed away at the age of 63. In lieu of flowers, he asked in his obituary that people donate to Wasatch Adaptive Sports. I thought that was a beautiful thing.

I think about Kerry a lot. In my time with WAS, I’ve worked with many of our participants, their families and support networks out on the slopes and trails of the Wasatch Front (some of whom are pictured below) – each with their own unique stories to tell, but each with the same connecting thread as Kerry’s: this organization changes lives. 

WAS gives children with developmental disabilities confidence to become more independent and find common ground with their peers. It reconnects folks with physical disabilities to their bodies and boosts their self-esteem. It gives families with all kinds of disabilities the opportunity to be a “ski family” or “bike family” together (I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard “I never thought this was possible for my child.”) It creates an inclusive community for all people to come together to shred, get stoked, and enjoy the Greatest Snow on Earth. This paragraph could go on indefinitely, but the point is: these programs are essential and life-altering.

It’s also free of charge for anyone who needs the support. 97% of our participants receive scholarships to cover the equipment, instruction, resources like lift tickets, and more. Those who pay are choosing to do so based on a desire and ability to give back to the organization.

There are many incredible humanitarian causes in the world. WAS is one of them. The disability community is the largest minority group in the world, and the only one that anyone can join at any time. Nearly 1 in 4 Americans identify as having a disability. Isn’t that a shocking number? 

Navigating a disability can affect every aspect of a person’s life – from income to housing to transportation, to risk factors in mental and physical health. WAS fills a critical need for this community with recreation – which is statistically proven (through our measures and larger studies) to improve physical and mental health. In fact, I’ll always argue that recreation is essential to everyone, in one form or another. After all – life is meant to be enjoyed, not endured. Everyone deserves to enjoy the outdoors in ways that make them feel invigorated, connected, and alive.

There are so many ways to support this community through WAS, right here in Utah. Refer new participants to our programs, come volunteer with us, or – my new area of focus! – consider making or referring someone to make a major gift to the organization. Every dollar counts in our quest to serve more people right here in Utah, without sacrificing an ounce of quality or continuity that make our programs special. 

If I could talk to Kerry today, I’d tell him that I’m so proud of what I’m doing here. I’d say that I’m excited to start my new role in fundraising to support the people we serve, many of whom have become personal friends of mine during the last several years, and that I’m grateful to have the opportunity to impact the lives of my fellow human beings every day through my work. 

And I’d tell him that I miss him. 

Yours in adaptive allyship,

Don