Wheelchair Basketball

Each week a group of abled and disabled athletes gather at Dr. Weeks Elementary School in the city of Syracuse to play wheelchair basketball. It is a great form of aerobic exercise and a fun social atmosphere! Don't get me wrong, it can get heated from the competition! And if there was a bar of soap, it would be in my mouth most of the time due to my intensity and lack of inner monologue.
I am hoping to get someone to come out and shoot a short video of us playing soon, so we can place it on youtube for others to view and peek their interest in playing!!!
If you ever want to try it out, feel free to contact me @ movealonginc@yahoo.com!!

March of Dimes Walk

Yesterday turned out to be a beautiful day for the March for Babies walk at Long Branch Park in Syracuse! The Spina Bifida / Move Along team had about 60 - 70 participants. It was a great day for networking, spreading the word about a wonderful cause, and spending time with family and friends.
I must say I was exhuasted today from rolling the course with an extra 60 lbs or so, as my nephew Matthew felt I was better transportation than his bike! It was well worth the exhaustion.
Thank you to everyone who took time out of their day to come out and support the March of Dimes and all the organizations who took part.
Kim, Mary, Judy, and Nienke helped prepare all of the participants with a great banner photo of our group, stickers and T-shirts!
Let's stay determined in our vision!

Overwhelming Numbers of Paralyzed Americans

Please read this article when you have time.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090421/us_nm/us_spinal_injuries

Thank you for your ongoing support!!!

March Of Dimes (March For Babies)

If anyone has an interest in helping show the strength and vision of Move Along Inc. I would love to have you as part of the team I am forming with Upstate Spina Bifida Group for the March of Dimes walk to be held at Onondaga Lake Parkway on April 26th @ 9AM.
If you can donate $10 towards the team contribution (as a family, or individual) and come out and take a stroll through the park for a few hours with all of our team members it would be so greatly appreciated!
Contact me by email to get details for meeting and making another day for children in the Syracuse community special!!
callen_g@yahoo.com

Thank you!!! Don't leave it up to the next person.....everyone is needed to make a difference, and of course welcome to join!!!

Childrens Activities Night @ Institute for Human Performance

For the past 6 months members of the Syracuse Flyers have volunteered (it is so fun, I don't consider it volunteering...) their time at a childrens activities (adaptive sports) night which was established throught the combined efforts of Dr. Nienke Dosa and her staff (Upstate Medical), as well as, Dr. Tim Davis of Cortland State and his staff, and students.
Last night was the last in a series of a six month session. Although I know that these evenings allow the children the resources they need to build friendships, smile, and play; it has done an immense amount for me in strenghtening my passion to make sure there are resources in the CNY area in the future for programs such as this and others on a more consistent and available basis.
I had the opportunity last evening to speak with many parents about the vision of Move Along Inc., and the desire to build resources in athletic programs, as well as, arts programs in the future. There is both an overwhelming need, and a great attitude of support!!
I am developing a Facebook, Myspace, and LinkedIn site to post pictures of this event and many others to ensure others can view the joy these children obtain when having resources available to them. Please be sure to take the time to view these pages in the future....I will post the sites in less than a week!!
Once again, thanks to Dr. Dosa, and Dr. Davis and their team members for getting something truly remarkable started!!

Upstate Medical and Move Along Inc.

Dialogue has been ongoing to combine efforts with Upstate Medical Center, Cortland State, and Move Along Inc. to set a date for a brainstorming meeting to discuss growth of clinics and programs in athletics for indivduals with disabilities.
A date has been set to discuss the ideas of a core group of participants on May 11th with the presence of Dr.David Smith, the President of Upstate Medical Center.
I will be presenting on the impact and influence of fundraising in the community and building an identity through corporate networking.
Stay tuned for an exciting update following that meeting!!!

Syracuse Flyers And Move Along Inc.

Since 1979 there has been a recreational basketball program established at Dr. Weeks Elementary School in Syracuse, NY. At times the membership numbers were large in volume, and at times it fell into dormancy. The board of directors for the Syracuse Flyers have made the decision to move forward legally with a merger with Move Along Inc. Both organizations will be guided through this legal process of restructuring.
A large amount of emotion is involved in this transition for the Syracuse Flyers and Move Along. There is immense anticipation for growth of the basketball program that has been a staple for many years, into an ongoing recreational night on Tuesday evenings, as well as the possiblity of development of an all inclusive (abled and disabled bodied) competitive league, and youth clinics to nurture the future athletes of adaptive sports!
With this merger Move Along will continue on its mission to establish a number of programs to enable disabled athletes to learn and compete in athletics!!
Thank you to all of our supporters!

Today's Action Items

Today I am working on moving forward with the following items to make Move Along flourish with success!!

1. Establishment of insurance policy to enable the organization to participate in athletic events at multiple venues.

2. Continutation of documentation to obtain 501c3 status. Spoke with the IRS about current 501c3 of Syracuse Flyers and merger of an active status.

3. Contacted Syracuse University director of Recreation Services to establish a clinical evening or co-ed intramureal league for students and community members to play wheelchair basketball!!

Have a great day everyone!!

VA Hospital Meeting

Today I had a great meeting with Suzanne Hawes, who is the lead rec. therapist at the VA Hospital in Syracuse. Suzanne and I discussed programs that the VA has on a national level, and how those do not have a direct enough impact on the individuals they serve locally. I presented the mission and vision of Move Along and how I feel it can grow into a great variety of both athletic and artistic resources for veterans to reintegrate themselves back into society after being discharged from both duty and medical recovery.
We also discussed the future opportunity to educate the medical community on the needs of those individuals effected by trauma, both physical and mental, and how it is a sensitive issue that is not given enough attention. I offered to provide educational in services in the future and plan on adding that as a program of Move Along.
The meeting was truly exciting and another great network for Move Along Inc. to look forward to building upon.

Step One Creative Meeting for Move Along Logo

I had a great meeting today with Mark Proud, Jeff Wallace and Sean Callen regarding the development of a logo and brand identity for the Move Along Foundation. I will post the logo this evening for viewing.

This is such an exciting process and so many individuals are going to benefit in the future!!!