{"id":16793,"date":"2024-03-08T10:23:11","date_gmt":"2024-03-08T15:23:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/?p=16793"},"modified":"2024-03-08T10:23:11","modified_gmt":"2024-03-08T15:23:11","slug":"high-schoolers-come-together-to-make-sports-accessible-for-people-with-disabilities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/2024\/03\/high-schoolers-come-together-to-make-sports-accessible-for-people-with-disabilities.html","title":{"rendered":"High Schoolers Come Together to Make Sports Accessible For People With Disabilities"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"lacrosse<\/a>
Long Island Hammerheads\/Facebook<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The big hearts of these Long Island high schoolers are helping athletes with disabilities play the sport by taking up funds to support inclusive initiatives. \u201cLacrosse My Heart,\u201d a nonprofit spearheaded by six student lacrosse players from Roslyn High School in New York, most recently raised enough funds to support a wheelchair lacrosse team, the Long Island Hammerheads.<\/p>\n

Zach Mashaal, co-founder of the organization, told \u201cFox & Friends Weekend,” \u201cMy friends, my co-founders, and I have been playing together since we were five years old, and lacrosse has done so much for us, so we wanted to give back to the community by connecting through organizations like the Hammerheads or people who have not been exposed to lacrosse at a young age and show them the love of the sport.\u201d The nonprofit helps athletes like Joe Slaninka, a member of the Hammerheads team, who said community support makes all the difference.<\/p>\n

Slaninka told \u201cFox & Friends Weekend\u201d co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy, \u201cWe are community-based programs. There are not a lot of great fundraising opportunities for us, so when organizations like Zach\u2019s come to us and say, \u2018Hey, we want to help you out and do something,\u2019 it\u2019s huge. It also kind of shows that we play lacrosse, [and] they play lacrosse, so it\u2019s the common thread.\u201d According to a site detailing the group\u2019s goals, \u201cLacrosse My Heart\u201d says they are \u201cdedicated to making lacrosse accessible to individuals of all abilities,\u201d and they raise \u201cfunds and awareness to support inclusive initiatives within the sport.\u201d<\/p>\n