The 6th Annual NAC Kids Olympics are a Huge Success!
On June 18th, the blue sky and Hudson River served as a backdrop to the 6th Annual NAC Kids Olympics at the Chelsea Piers Field house. Hundreds of children with special medical needs and their siblings and family members turned out for an exciting day filled with games, activities, and a few very special guests.
The day featured a variety of events that were tailored to the diverse abilities of the children NAC serves. NAC kids had a great time in the fully equipped gymnasium, complete with foam pits, rope swings, and a large indoor rock climbing wall. Outside the gymnasium area, children played basketball, competed in potato sack races and participated in soccer drills. Others spent time with NAC’s therapy dogs or in the arts and crafts area.
The NAC Kids Olympics would not have been possible without the support of our dedicated corporate partners. Volunteers from New York Life Insurance, Crédit Suisse, Estée Lauder, Polo Ralph Lauren, Société Générale and PIMCO enthusiastically jumped in and organized games and other activities. Their efforts and sensitivity to the varying abilities of NAC’s children ensured that the 6th NAC Kids Olympics was an unforgettable event for the children in attendance.
NAC was also able to welcome George Martin of the New York Giants 1986 Championship team and Otis Anderson, Super Bowl XXV MVP. Mr. Martin and Mr. Anderson spent time with NAC youth playing basketball and getting to know some of the extraordinary children NAC serves each day.
“This is what it’s all about.” Mr. Martin stated as he played basketball with some NAC youth, “Seeing these kids out here and all these big smiles, it makes you really appreciate days like this and organizations like NAC.”
The event was topped off with an exhilarating performance by the Harlem Wizards, who brought NAC kids right into the show. After displaying their basketball skills and sense of humor, the Wizards stuck around to help distribute gold medals to the beaming NAC champions alongside NAC Executive Director, Dr. Arlene Goldsmith, and long-time NAC friends, New York State Assemblymember Micah Kellner and New York City Council Member Gail A. Brewer.
Dr. Goldsmith, weighed in on why she though the day was so inspiring:
“When I see a child with Down syndrome smile from ear to ear when a gold medal is placed around her neck, or when a little boy with cerebral palsy says that the NAC Olympics is the best day of his life, I feel extremely proud and lucky that NAC is able to offer this amazing day for our children and families.”
View the CBS News coverage from the event:
Otis on his mentor Danny
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