The Easter weekend offers many fun-filled family activities for the community to attend. There will be plenty of egg hunts and chocolate bunnies everywhere. However, there is another event that supports a special cause.
The Spring Carnival hosted by the Champions Together Club at Crawfordsville High School is a “carnival for a cause.” This event from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday in the high school gymnasium is a fundraiser for the group to become a Unified Champion School.
Champions Together is a partnership between Special Olympics Indiana and the Indiana High School Athletic Association. The program works with student-athletes to teach servant leadership as they work together with people with intellectual disabilities. The whole focus of the program is not to focus on disabilities, but to celebrate abilities.
To become a Unified Champion School, the school must meet four pillars of achievement. The first pillar is having an Inclusive Student Leadership group that works to do activities with, not for, students with intellectual disabilities. An entire school engagement program promoting awareness, respect and inclusion of those with intellectual disabilities is the second pillar. Thirdly, the school must participate in a Unified Sports activity recognized by Special Olympics.
The fourth pillar is fundraising. It is the last pillar the CHS students need to be awarded a Unified Champion School banner. The students must raise $1,500 to be utilized by the Champions Together project. Therefore, they need the community to come out to the Spring Carnival and help achieve the monetary goal.
The Easter Bunny will be present for pictures. An Easter egg hunt will take place at 11:30 a.m. Tickets to play games in the gym will be sold. Cost is $1 for two tickets; $5 for 12 tickets and $10 for 25 tickets. Easter-filled baskets will be raffled, and bids will close at 11:20 a.m. Winners must be present to claim their prize.
The group’s overall goal is more than the award banner, though. Ask club members, and they will tell you lives are changed and deep friendships made.
“It is the most powerful thing I have been a part of in my life,” said Emily Powell, club vice president. “It has shaped what I want to do in the future. It is an amazing opportunity to be a part of this.”
The organization at Crawfordsville High School is one of the largest activity groups. It has a roster of 90 students and is growing. The school teacher sponsors are Keri McDonald and Shelley Clouser, both special education teachers. The student club president is Hayden Jeffries. Jeffries has a big heart for the core values represented by Champions Together and is not afraid to show it.
“It is the most beautiful thing to see the impact our student-athletes make on the life skills classes and their impact on us,” Jeffries said. “It is the best feeling one could have.”
Business sponsors for the event are Russell Family Chiropractic and JM Thompson Insurance.
