Gift adds momentum to a vision of physical activity for all

Two staff members assisting a young boy in a swimming pool.

By Kathryn Stroppel

Gift adds momentum to a vision of physical activity for all

College of Health receives $2 million gift to advance equity and inclusion for people with disabilities.

When you raise a child with a disability, you soon awaken to the fact that society is built for the able-bodied and the neurotypical. It’s the factory setting in a world that can sometimes feel unyielding, unsupportive and even unkind to children and families with different needs.

Where can your child find a common space to make friends, enjoy the feeling of movement and learn new skills, as well as develop self-confidence and self-advocacy?

Where can you find a safe environment for your child to grow and for you to feel supported and helpful in enriching your child’s life?

Such a place is unfortunately rare. But there is joy and gratitude when you find it.

Championing equitable and inclusive access to physical activity

Hundreds of families in the Willamette Valley have found it in IMPACT, which meets the unique motor, physical activity and physical fitness needs of children and youth experiencing intellectual and developmental disabilities (ID/DD).

Recently, one family showed its gratitude through a $2 million gift as part of the Provost’s Faculty Match program to increase endowed positions at Oregon State University. There are currently 12 endowed positions in the College of Health.

These private donors were inspired not only by their own positive experience with IMPACT, but also the college’s vision for making OSU the national leader in adapted physical activity.

Their gift enables the College of Health to hire the Endowed Chair for Equity and Inclusion for People with Disabilities, provides support to train the next generation of students, expands research opportunities, and enriches the lives of countless young people with disabilities and their families.

The donors say, "Establishing the endowed chair is an important step in expanding the influence of IMPACT. It is our thank you to the faculty – past, present and future – who conceived of and established IMPACT and developed it into a model program of excellence. It is our gift to people with developmental and intellectual disabilities and their families, who will continue to benefit from the program.

"It is our commitment to the learning and training of OSU students so that they may better understand, accept and include people with disabilities. It is our statement that it is important and right to provide equitable opportunities and support for all people to participate in physical activity in inclusive settings."

Program leaders say the gift is crucial to building faculty capacity in the area of adapted physical activity. 

“This new chair will help further elevate our portfolio of work in this area and help us continue to attract top graduate students from around the world because of our reputation for research and active community outreach,” says Professor Megan MacDonald, head of the School of Exercise, Sport, and Health Sciences and IMPACT for Life Endowed Scholar.  

The exponential power of one gift 

“This is an incredible gift from a special family and one that will make a difference to generations of faculty members who will hold this title, as well as to generations of students who will carry these values and practices into their careers and social and civic lives,” says Interim Dean Rick Settersten.

Programs such as IMPACT and IMPACT for Life, which support young adults in their physical activity practice, provide real-world opportunities for students to practice theories and skills that transcend traditional classroom learning.

According to Megan, “These training opportunities are rooted in evidence-based practice, and they support students and faculty in conducting cutting-edge research with people with disabilities and becoming leaders in the field. In addition, this incredibly generous gift will ensure that equity, inclusion and disability are always studied and celebrated at OSU.”

Educating students, engaging with the community, and furthering discovery are the pillars of higher education. But its beating heart is care and concern for all people.

“This gift is incredibly important to the health and well-being of people with disabilities and their families,” Rick says.

“I am part of one of those families, who understand all too well how hard it is to access services and build the supports our children need to thrive, of how restricted their pathways and options are as they move into adulthood, and of how easy it is for them to get lost along the way – despite the extraordinary people they are, the deep and meaningful contributions they make in this world, and the important lessons they teach us daily about grace, dignity and humanity.”

An ambitious vision for an inclusive future

The nation is facing a shortage of adapted physical activity (APA) educators; community physical activity instructors; community-based physical activity programs for people with disabilities; local fitness facilities, community recreational programs and group homes with staff trained in APA; and APA leaders and champions.

IMPACT, too, faces its own challenges, including funding for faculty members, staff, graduate students, scholarships and fellowships; a waitlist that can be yearslong for some families; and inconsistent and unreliable federal funding. The program spends about $3,000 for each participant each academic year while only charging families a nominal fee.

Despite these considerable hurdles, IMPACT is confident it can help fill shortage gaps.

Its goals, Megan says, are to expand, improve and disseminate IMPACT’s community-based model of educating professionals, develop leaders locally and globally, develop and implement an ongoing research program, and support community physical activity instructors to increase participation in meaningful, healthful and enjoyable physical activity by people of all ages with ID/DD.

A recent gift from the Kuni Foundation funded a sensory room for IMPACT participants, who might feel overwhelmed by gym activities, to self-regulate.

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A group of people sitting in a dimly lit room, interacting with glowing light strands.

“I am inspired by IMPACT’s 40-year history of training leaders, the effective hands-on learning and service opportunities we provide students, and our commitment to promoting physical activity, health and well-being to all people experiencing disability,” Megan says.

“We already are a model of inclusion and in providing programs such as IMPACT, and I’m excited about serving more people with ID/DD. In my 13 years with the program, I still find it remarkable that one program can serve the community and educate future leaders equipped to meet the needs of this population.

“To see the progress and camaraderie experienced by students, faculty and participants each week makes the work incredibly tangible. When we help one person experience the agency and joy in movement, we help create a better world, and we all benefit.”

Adapted physical activity programs include IMPACT, IMPACT for Life, the Adaptive Exercise Clinic, and Go Baby Go.

Over time, these programs have served more than:

  • 1,500 people of all ages with ID/DD, who have participated in community-based programs.
  • 5,000 undergraduate students who have served as volunteers or taken course credit to work directly with children and youth with disabilities.
  • 50 doctoral students who have served in leadership roles in community-based programs and conducted disability scholarship.
  • 140 Master of Adapted Physical Education students who have served in leadership roles in community-based programs and serve as physical educators in public schools.

Learn more about IMPACT and IMPACT for Life, the Adaptive Exercise Clinic and Go Baby Go.

Make a gift to support the IMPACT Leadership Fund, established by Jeff and Debbie McCubbin and John and Linda Dunn, who have helped build and sustain the program since 1982.

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