Kim and Rich Rosenbaum, and their four children, have been an important part of the BYSC family for more than seven years now. Their 17-year-old daughter Lindsay has participated as an athlete in our Sunday morning Special Needs programs while 15-year-old son Finn has worked as a volunteer. And even Lindsay’s 10-year-old twin sisters KC and Harley often show up to lend a hand. Kim was nice enough to take a few minutes to speak with us about her family’s experience with Backyard Sports Cares.
Tell us how you became involved with Backyard Sports Cares.
I was looking for something for Lindsay to do with other kids that involved sports and heard about the organization from a friend whose son was volunteering. So I called Danny and he said, “Come on down on Sunday morning,” and we came and never looked back. BYSC has an incredibly warm inviting feel and everyone made Lindsay feel comfortable right away.
Can you speak to any specific connection she may have had with volunteers. Every year there seems to be a person, or several people, that she connects with. She really enjoys the volunteers.
A few years back, two of the volunteers she worked with came to her Bat Mitzvah. It was so amazing, she really bonded with them. Lindsay was so excited to have them there, they had a great time, and it was just great all around.
How has the Sunday morning Special Needs Program had an impact on Lindsay?
It has dramatically helped her confidence. She’s not afraid to try new things and socially, it has also helped her experiment with talking to different people, including other special needs children. She also gets to work on things she needs to work on in a fun way. We’ve always encouraged her to do everything everyone else does, even though it might take her a little longer. But she skis, she swims, she horseback rides and she has fun doing it, which is exactly the approach you all take at Backyard Sports. You modify sports and make it fun so kids can be active and get exercise.
