This last weekend was incredible. I am waiting for pictures to come in from everyone who took pictures of the weekend so it may be a few weeks before I blog a lot about our weekend in Sun Valley, as I want to have pictures to go with the blogs. It was inspiring to say the least.
There is a non-profit organization called Sun Valley Adaptive Sports. They focus in helping people with disabilities through recreational therapy. You can find out more about them at their website (which I am going to include in my website links), www.svasp.org. They are a phenomenal organization that do a lot for the community. One of their programs is called Higher Ground, which is an injured veteran's program. They bring injured vets from all over the country to Sun Valley for five days of sports and recreational therapy for FREE. I am talking plane tickets, lodging, food, equipment, lift tickets, etc. Everything is absolutely FREE. Joseph and I were first invited up there in March of 2006. We had a remarkable time and it was inspiring to see these injured Marines, all from Joseph's unit, experience a new will to live and a new lease on life. Many of them are amputees and one is a paraplegic.
After Joseph attended the event last year, he was invited to sit on the Board of Directors. This has been an amazing experience for him and a wonderful opportunity to give back to an organization that has done so much for not only our life, but lives of others who suffer with life altering disabilities.
This year there were 10 injured vets at this event. There were some from Florida and Georgia. Another woman by the name of Daryn Kagan was also invited to the event. She used to be a CNN reporter but now runs her own website after her contract was not renewed with CNN.
The majority of the news covers things that are depressing. We live in a world where crime, war, and general evil prevails and the news stations choose to have their coverage focus on those stories. However, Daryn's favorite part of news is uplifting news stories. She has dedicated her website to inspiring news, news that uplifts and encourages people to live better lives. About a year ago, she even featured an article that Joseph had written about his life changing experience with Sun Valley Adaptive Sports. If you want, you can read it by clicking here.
I recommend that Daryn's website become a "bookmark" or "favorite" for all of us. It is encouraging to read about the good and inspiring in the world, especially amid all the coverage of war and hate. Check out Daryn's website and let me know what you think. The address is www.darynkagan.com. I know that Daryn's website will now be on my daily list of sites to check.
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4 comments:
This post is a good reminder of how good God is. Both in keeping Joseph safe and then allowing for doors to be opened to new friendships and being blessed with other opportunities. God is awesome, in the true sense of the word!
I followed the link to read Joseph's article. Very inspiring in and of itself. I wonder if he realizes that his story alone can be an inspiration to others? I remember when we were told that he'd been injured and it seemd like forever between updates on how he was doing, and there was always one more surgery waiting to happen a few weeks or months. It is truly amazing to see how far his recovery has brought him.
Wow, that sounds like a great idea. I will definitely check out that website. I'm glad you had such a great time on vacation - what a great program!
Hey Ashley! I read Josephs article and I thought it was just awesome! I think both of you are great writers. My blog is so boring in comparison - I'll have to work on that.
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