The mission for this online gallery and my artwork is to bring awareness to causes closest to my heart, with sale proceeds going to support my favorite nonprofits and charities. They include Challenged Athletes Foundation, Foster The City, and Wheels for the World. Below is more information on these organizations and my personal connection to them.
My adaptive crossfit family doing a demo at the Challenge Athlete’s SDTC weekend in La Jolla, CA back in Oct 2019.
Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) – CAF provides opportunities and support to people with physical challenges, so they can pursue active lifestyles through physical fitness and competitive athletics. The Challenged Athletes Foundation believes that involvement in sports at any level increases self-esteem, encourages independence and enhances quality of life. I love sports but my physical limitations made it nearly impossible to participate in competitive athletics. In 2016, I discovered the wonderful world of adaptive crossfit athletics and it has changed my life. The amazing work that CAF is doing transcends beyond the physical but more importantly provides those those living with physical challenges a means to be athletes. I am a grant recipient and their financial support allows me to train and compete in adaptive crossfit.
Foster the City - The mission of Foster the City is “Every child in foster care has a name and a story, and every story matters to God. Due to a shortage of foster homes across the country, children in the foster care system are often placed outside of their community, moved around multiple times and are vulnerable to society’s most pressing issues. If even a fraction of churches raise up one Foster Family with a team of Support Friends, there will be more than enough loving homes to meet the need. If even a fraction of the churches in our cities raise up one Foster Family with a team of four Support Friends, there will be more than enough families to meet the need.” My goal is to become a Support Friend to support families who are caring for a child in foster care in this coming year. I don’t have a family of my own, but LOVE children. Knowing that there are so many in need living around me in the Bay Area, I cannot help but want to support the amazing work that Foster The City is doing.
Here with Ebenezer, an amazing soccer player seated with his new sports wheelchair. (Ghana, Africa in 2018)
Wheels for the World – Under the umbrella of Joni and Friends Ministry, Wheels collects used wheelchairs in the US, partners with prisons to refurbish the chairs like new and ships the chairs with therapeutic teams. The team includes physical & occupational therapists, wheelchair mechanics, & support folks who fit the wheelchairs and provide a Bible to recipients with disabilities in third world countries. I've been blessed to serve on several outreaches to South East Asia since 2003 and most recently in 2018 to Ghana, Africa delivering the message of hope of The Gospel.