Disabilities Awareness Week: JUMP hosts basketball clinic

Saturday, April 15 Associated Students (AS) Employee Riley Bornstein organized one last event in support of Disability Awareness. Within the five branches of AS, Bornstein works for Join Us Making Progress (JUMP) and is the community connections coordinator. Every month, the program coordinates volunteering for students. During SSU’s Disability Awareness Week, they decided the timing would be perfect to host a basketball clinic. Although Bornstein organized the event, several others volunteered that day including: JUMP co-workers, SSU students as well as the mens and womens basketball team. There were 30 volunteers that got the ball rolling for the 15 athletes who participated in the event.

One of Bornstein's goals for putting on the Special Olympics Basketball Clinic was to, “help athletes of all abilities succeed.” While planning for the event, he reached out to the Special Olympics Northern California organization so any and all ages could participate in the clinic. According to their website, “[Special Olympics Northern California] enriches the lives of more than 26,218 children and adults with intellectual disabilities and their communities in Northern California through sports, education, and athlete health. 

JUMP runs on volunteering and therefore relies on the good nature of its community to keep it running. Everybody seemed to be loving the event. The JUMP basketball clinic was organized by Bornstein and SSU women's basketball Coach Des Abeyta coordinated the drills and exercises on the court. A volunteer at the event, SSU Coach Shayewitz said, “It’s our first time partnering [with JUMP] and we are really thinking about doing this more often.” 

One of the standout players was a man named Joe. The 24 year-old was putting on a show the whole time, pulling off spin moves and trick shots that had everyone ecstatic. As the game came to an end, Joseph still wanted to continue to play, he couldn’t wait to get back out on the court. “I loved [the clinic] I scored like eight to ten points but I wanted 12.” He explained. The smiles were everywhere as the players began their journey home. 

If you are looking to become involved with JUMP, contact Jumpdaysofservice@sonoma.edu for more volunteering opportunities.