To tap into her children's interest in sports, DC mother Sara McIntosh started Challenger Little League last summer for kids who are mentally and physically handicapped. Each disabled team member has a buddy, ideally a child near his age, who plays the game with him. The buddy may hold the bat for a child whose arms aren't strong enough, push the wheelchair for a child who can't walk, or hold the hand of a blind child as he runs around the bases. Weekend and long-term projects. The organization also provides educational and vocational assistance, life-skills training, and job development in addition to legal aid and youth leadership development.
Activities are open to all.
Many projects are scheduled on weekends or holidays, such as the District of Columbia Jewish Community Center's programs, which include gardening in an abandoned urban lot and preparing meals at soup kitchens. Indira Goldstein, director of the Morris Cafritz Center for Community, gets calls from families who want to take children from a homeless shelter on an outing or share tickets to a basketball game, and she can make the connections for them. Prepares and delivers meals to homebound AIDS patients. Greater DC Cares organizes volunteer teams to work with social-service agencies. To meet the growing demands of parents who want to do projects as a family, the organization will sponser Family Works, a series of regular projects for parents and children.