Realizing Potential in Sport and Life through BlazeSports America
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>View discussions about this entry Country: United States
Organization: BlazeSports America
Sport: Other
Year the initative began (yyyy) 1998
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Project URL: http://www.blazesports.org
Positioning in the Mosaic of solutions
What is your signature innovation, your new idea, in one sentence? Sport as a vehicle for changing lives, developing leadership and healthy lifestyle skills... Trailblazers Youth Leadership Initiative.
Describe your innovation. What makes your idea unique and different than others doing work in the field? BlazeSports' Trailblazers Youth Leadership Initiative targets youth aged 15-18 with physical disability or visual impairment. The initiative enables participating youth to develop leadership, pre-vocational skills and healthy lifestyle skills that will enable them to be leaders in sport and life. Our innovation is unique because it targets youth with physical disability as potential leaders. Youth with physical disability are often isolated from mainstream youth development and leadership programs. In addition, the initiative is built on the philosophy of "for youth, by youth" to ensure their input in the planning, implementation and evaluation phases.
What are the existing barriers, the biggest problem, your innovation is hoping to address/change? The two greatest barriers are lack of opportunities and community stereotypes of youth with physical disability. Our innovation provides opportunities to youth with physical disability to develop leadership skills where they currently do not exist and secondly to raise community awareness (parents, schools and universities, employers) of the abilities of youth with physical disability and their leadership potential.
Delivery Model: How do you implement your innovation and apply it to the challenge/problem you are addressing? The Trailblazers Youth Leadership Initiative was launched at the International Youth Leadership Training Camp in October 2007, where American and Egyptian youth with physical disabilities developed leadership skills, life skills and lifelong friendships through sport and other interactive activities. The initiative will be piloted in 2008 through a series of interactive monthly workshops, a 2-day retreat, and experential learning opportunities. A curriculum is being adapted to meet the specific leadership needs of youth with physical disability such as self-advocacy and self-determination. Experiential learning opportunities include camp leader at BlazeSports Summer Camp and other BlazeSports sport and physical activity programs.
How do you plan to grow your innovation? The Trailblazers Youth Leadership Initiative is currently in the pilot phase but we plan to offer the training every year. The initiative will also be launched through our network of 63 clubs across the US and with our international partners in Africa and the Middle East.
Provide one sentence describing your impact/intended impact. Youth will develop their own leadership style and achieve the goals they set in life, education, and career, and create a more inclusive community.
What impact has your innovation had to date/or what is your intended impact? Exactly who are the beneficiaries? The beneficiaries of the initiative are youth aged 15-18 years with a physical disability or visual impairment. Although we have not measured the impact to date, we have seen through our International Youth Leadership Conference/Camp that youth can increase their knowledge and attitude towards developing leadership skills through sport and other activities.
Please list any other measures reflective of the impact of your innovation? Research has demonstrated that youth who participate in youth leadership and youth development experiences tend to perform well in school, are involved in their community and transition better through adolesence to adulthood.
BlazeSports also strives for social change and community transformation to create a more inclusive society through sport. What are the main barriers to creating or achieving your impact? The main barriers to achieving our impact is lack of transportation, lack of long-term funding, need for trained volunteers, and stereotypes in the community regarding people with disability.
How is your initiative financed (or how do you expect your initiative will be financed)? The initiative is partially financed through government sources, foundations and donations.
If known, provide information on your finances and organization. BlazeSports America is non-profit 501(c)(3) organization headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The organization currently employs eight full-time and one part-time professional staff. Skills and expertise range from therapeutic recreation, sports psychology, exercise science, disability sports, social work, dietetics, communications, policy development, and public health.
What is the potential demand for your innovation? Youth Leadership and youth development are both very relevant and popular topics today especially with youth with physical disability. BlazeSports sees this innovation growing from year to year.
What are the main barriers to financial sustainability? The main barrier to financial sustainability for the initiative is funders changing their priorities from year to year.
What is the origin of this innovation? Tell us your story. BlazeSports America is the legacy organization to the 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia.
Our mission is to enable youth and adults with physical disability and visual impairment to realize their potential through sport and healthy lifestyles. There is wide recognition of the physical, psychological, and social benefits derived from participation in sports. A quick look at any community in the US reveals a wide variety of sports for children and adults with disability delivered through schools, athletic leagues, churches, community recreation providers and othes. Likewise, Special Olympics provides an expansive program for those with cognitive disability. Sport opportunities for those with physical disability have been fragmented - strong in some communities and non-existent in others. BlazeSports America fills that void by offering comprehensive, high-quality programs that transform local communities by utlizing the full continuum from recreational to competitive sport options. BlazeSports sees sport as the vehicle for buidling character, leadership and life skills. Please provide a personal bio. Note this may be used in Changemakers marketing material. Blaze, BlazeSports America Mascot. Blaze is a phoenix, a mythical bird that rises from ashes to experience a renewed life. The phoenix appears in Egyptian, Arabian, Chinese, Russian and native American lore and in all instances symbolizes strength, vision, inspiration and survival. The phoenix was an ideal mascot for the 1996 Atlanta Paralympic Games and later for BlazeSports America. It is the personification of the will, perseverance and determination of youth and adults with physical disability to achieve full and productive lives.
Contact Information:
Mara Galic
Project Development and Evaluation BlazeSports America (non-profit organization) Discussions about this entry |
Hi Mara,
Thanks for sharing this project with Changemakers. It's an interesting approach combining leadership training and sport for people with physical and sensory disabilities.
There are quite a few projects out there that focus purely on participation in sport and physical activity and inclusion. It's great to see BlazeSports America connect leadership training to sports for people with a disability.
Is the plan to target people that are not currently active in sport and introduce them to a range of sports and leadership concepts at the same time? Or given the nature of your organisation, maybe you have already a group of active youth that you are wanting to train as leaders. Could you clarify that?
Also, do you think there would be opportunities for these new leaders to be linked with community clubs where they can regularly coach or volunteer to regularly be invovled in sports after their training?
I look forward to seeing this project develop and will keep an eye on your website for more details.
All the best,
Jackie
Jackie Lauff
Free University Berlin
University Challenge