A gift. Sometimes it comes by way of a special day or moment; sometimes it comes as a surprise; sometimes it fulfills a great need; sometimes we can forget the moment the gift was given.

I don’t ever want to forget the ‘moment’ of our first trailer. In 2009 our dear friend, Tommy York, went on a search to find a double-axle, three-quarter inch plywood trailer to purchase with a small grant we won.
Fiona Allen was part of our dynamic duo.  She went with Tommy to pick up the trailer. As a horse lover and competitive rider, Fiona knew how to pull a trailer and park it on a dime!
Upon their arrival at the first Bridge II Sports office, I was waiting with anticipation! I remember the joy on Fiona‘s face that we had a trailer to transport equipment to and from programs.

At that time, Blue (our truck) and my white van were the main transport. Fiona and I would load and unload each time for every program. We were beginning to feel the growing pains of success and needed more storage. The new trailer would house the sports chairs saving energy and space … a wonderful gift!

The trailer was pulled to tournaments in multiple states, adapted sports demonstrations at multiple locations,  we visited schools across North Carolina, and, of course, it was a regular at weekly practices. Serving and being seen by tens of thousands.

We felt the pride of being part of something.  Our logo with her iconic figures representing cross-disabilities playing sport! We are here!

Speed forward 10 years, to 2019. We received a gift from Ryan Stines and Endless Sports as a generous donation. I had been trying to find funds to get the trailer wrapped with the youth wheelchair basketball’s new name PRIDE (Perseverance , Resilience, Integrity, Determination, Empowerment).
Why?
I wanted the youth to feel the pride of a trailer that reflected their colors and logo, a fresh new look as we look forward with hope and anticipation of good!  Living life with disability.

Last Saturday we did the trailer reveal for the PRIDE team! The trailer reflects the team! You will see smiles, diverse disabilities, diversity, and young people who are a team full of pride!

A gift! This gift was a collaboration of many over time. Volunteers and parents gave their time to help scrape off the old logos to cut cost led by Program Director, Wes Hall.  This gift continues to save time for our program team, Akeem and Daisy.  This gift is a physical sign of living life with disability!

When you see us traveling the Triangle and beyond, celebrate the gifts that helped us get to where we are! If you would like to be a part, you can. Join the 360 Club as a monthly donor. Or, become part of a team as a sponsor of team PRIDE. Once COVID is over, you’ll see us back on the floor of all the university teams and driving all over the triangle where we will share our gifts.

Building the Bridge Together,
Ashley
Founder & CEO