I know this is a tough time all around. I know nearly everyone
is struggling financially. I know desperate times call for
desperate measures. But even I was surprised to find that someone
would feel the need to steal from a small group of wheelchair
athletes.
By Susan Jones
I know this is a tough time all around. I know nearly everyone is struggling financially. I know desperate times call for desperate measures. But even I was surprised to find that someone would feel the need to steal from a small group of wheelchair athletes.
Since 1997, S.H.A.R.P. (Specialized Hollister Activities and Recreation Program) has supported recreation opportunities for people with disabilities in Hollister. Possibly the most notable program is the Hollister Free Wheelers, our power (wheelchair) soccer team. The benefits are far-reaching including offering the unique opportunity for individuals with certain physical limitations to play in a competitive team sport.
This does come at a price. Unfortunately, we do not have a corporate sponsorship or any other on-going funding source. For the past 13 seasons, all of our related expenses have been mostly covered through the generosity of the Hollister (and surrounding) community.
The expenses for one season will range anywhere from $800-$2,000 per player. Since we established S.H.A.R.P. as our nonprofit, we have brought in a total in excess of $250,000 in tax-deductible donations, but this has not quite covered all our expenses each year. The athletes and/or their families have paid whatever we have not brought in through our fundraising efforts each year.
With the struggling economy, the donations have been less and the expenses have been more. Recently we began setting out decorated donation cans at community locations asking for people to donate their “spare change”. The concept is to use the spirit of a wishing well except that the person dropping the money is working toward making someone else’s wish come true.
For months now, the staff at Starbuck’s on Airline Highway (who have also volunteered a lot of their time and energy for other Free Wheeler activities) have generously allowed us to keep one of these cans on their counter. Over the summer, in just loose change and an occasional small bill, we were able to raise nearly enough to pay for the team’s national association (USPSA) dues. Unfortunately, when we returned to collect our donations a couple of weeks ago, the entire can was missing. The staff has looked everywhere but it is nowhere to be found.
We did not expect the busy baristas to have to monitor this item. We assumed the customers would be too focused on their coffee orders to mess with our small donation can. We apparently were wrong.
We feel badly for our team, we feel badly for those who had left their hard-earned money for us in good faith, and we feel badly for the person/persons who felt that this was an okay thing to do. We hope that all can heal and move on quickly from this moment and the rest of our 14th season will go on without a hitch.
Susan Jones, S.H.A.R.P. secretary and Free Wheelers team manager
