Earlier in the week, we told you about Tim Tebow blasting a home run after meeting a young fan who has autism in the on-deck circle. Turns out, the St. Lucie Mets' most popular player wasn't done creating feel-good moments for the week. On Saturday night, as the Mets took on the Tampa Yankees at Steinbrenner Field, Jillian Joyce, a [...]
Two summers ago, Shaun Evans ran from Seattle to New York with his 11-year-old son, Shamus, who has cerebral palsy. Now the pair can add another major milestone to their list. Shaun and Shamus just ran down the entire Mississippi River, more than 1,700 miles, in 29 days. Bigger than that, they donated 18 adaptive running chairs along the way. [...]
Editor’s note: Because Purpose2Play has been telling the stories of athletes, coaches, and fans for more than three years, we figure it’s about time to catch up with some of them to find out where they are now. As you’ll see, they’re still inspiring others and making the world a better place to live in. Where Are They Now? Catching [...]
Photo: Manchester United An 11-year-old boy in the United Kingdom who has cerebral palsy had the best day of his life when he got the chance to meet the athletes who most inspire him. However, he can considered the inspirational one. Despite living with a condition that makes playing soccer extremely difficult, Samuel still plays goalie for his [...]
Eric LeGrand's life changed drastically when he became paralyzed while making a special teams tackle in 2010. The former Rutgers defensive tackle has shared his story many times over, including once with us when we first launched Purpose2Play. “I felt like I was going to die because I couldn’t breathe,” LeGrand told us in 2014. “When I couldn’t move and [...]
Photo: WalkingwithKP/Twitter In last year's New York City Marathon, Brent Pease and his brother, Kyle, had every reason not to cross the finish line. Kyle has cerebral palsy, and Brent often pushes his wheelchair in endurance events. Unfortunately, one of the wheels broke at mile 8 in the 2015 race. Brent tried to carry Kyle, but that wasn't [...]
Photo courtesy of Kelli Tanghe By Kim Constantinesco Team Ari is their name. Making disabilities disappear is their game. On October 9, 2016, Kelli Tanghe, and her 16-year-old daughter, Arianna, became the first mother-daughter duo team to ever finish the Chicago Marathon. With Ari keeping morale high in her special racing chair, Kelli pushed over 160 pounds [...]
High school quarterback Max Akin had 200 passing yards, 60 rushing yards, and four touchdowns all in the first half of his homecoming game, but what he did during halftime surpasses all of that. The Keller Fossil Ridge (outside of Ft. Worth, Texas) QB was elected homecoming king, but immediately passed the crown on to someone more deserving -- [...]
Photo: The Cerebral Palsy Swagger/Facebook By Kim Constantinesco While most 16-year-old's are embracing a drivers license -- a highly anticipated ticket to freedom -- Hunter Gandee is happier walking. The high school junior from Temperance, Mich. recently completed a 111-mile walk, and he did it with his 9-year-old brother, Braden, strapped to his back all to raise [...]
Bailey Matthews, 9, stole the hearts of many when video emerged last summer of him crossing the finish line of the Castle Howard Triathlon in North Yorkshire, England. Matthews has cerebral palsy and started the race with his walking frame, but then ditched it when he saw the finish line. As soon as he got rid of his walking support, [...]