Veterans' Adaptive Activities Day 2008
The second annual Veterans' Adaptive Activities Day took place on October 3, 2008 at Northerly Island. This event is sponsored by a partnership between the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs and the Chicago Park District. Veterans' with and without disabilities and their families were invited to come out and be active at no cost, drawing a huge crowd which demonstrated the rapidly growing success of this event.
In addition to the busloads of veterans attending the event, a diverse variety of organizations were present to share information and resources regarding adapted sport, leisure and recreation opportunities. Organizations on hand included:
- BraveHearts Therapeutic Riding and Educational Center
- BulletBall Games
- Chicago Indoor Rowing
- Disabled American Veterans
- Diveheart’s Military Wounded
- Great Lakes Adaptive Sports
- Inclusive Fitness Coalition
- Judd Goldman Adaptive Sailing Foundation
- Kostas Z Foundation
- Midwest Wheelchair Sport & Social Club
- National Center on Physical Activity and Disability
- Paralyzed Veterans of America
- Project Mobility
- Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago
- Revelation Golf
- Schwab Rehabilitation Center
- U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs
- WS&S Medical
Tammy Duckworth, Director of Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs and an Iraq War Veteran, talked about the importance of these awareness events since most veterans are not aware of the wide ranges of adaptive sports and activities. Duckworth commented, "People have heard of wheelchair basketball, people have heard of wheelchair racing, but they may not have ever realized that they can go sailing, that they can go kayaking, that they can go fishing, that there are hand cranks."
The Inclusive Fitness Coalition was pleased to participate in the event and looks forward to seeing the event expand and thrive in the future.