Volleyball Team Volunteers With Special Olympians

From Sierra Canyon School:

The girls on the are not only talented athletes, but they are also compassionate volunteers.  Besides wearing pink shorts during October to raise awareness of breast cancer, they are giving of their free time to help others.

Kyra Anderson ’14, Madison Alhanati ’14, and Brianna La Croix ‘14 had volunteered at the Special Olympics Summer Games with their club volleyball team and wanted to share the same inspiring experience with their fellow Trailblazers. Kyra’s mother, Alvina, enrolled them as volunteers and arranged for lady Trailblazers to work with the Special Olympics volleyball team. (The Special Olympics is a year-round program that provides training and competition in 12 sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.)

The Special Olympics Fall Games took place on Nov. 12th and 13th in Orange County. After playing in a championship game over the weekend, 12 of the Sierra Canyon School students (Madison Alhanati '14, Kyra Anderson '14, Morgan Anker '15, Ireland Baldwin ’14, Alexis Clark '13, Carly Gilmore '15, Madison Heim-Jinivisian '14, Kyra Hill '14, Brianna LaCroix ’14, Lena Perry '13, Mia Rand '14, and Christina Rodgers '12) volunteered on Sunday, Nov. 13th at the Fountain Valley Sports Park from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Kyra Hill described the experience as “a lot of fun and a big eye-opener.  Seeing all the athletes smiling and cheering made me smile.” Christina Rodgers said, “Through this experience, I learned to appreciate what I have because there are people in this world who do not have the same opportunities as me, but they make the best of what they do have and are happy about it.” 

Madison Alhanati said, “The athletes make you look at life from a different perspective. The athletes in the Special Olympics don’t worry about whether they win or lose but if they tried their best or accomplished something new. It makes us all want to be better people.”  Ireland Baldwin reflected, "It was incredible to watch people of all ages participate in the volleyball matches and conquer their disabilities."

Kyra Anderson noticed, “Regardless if they won or lost, they still left with smiles on their faces.”  

Madison Heim-Jinivisian summed it up by saying, "It was such a humbling experience. No matter the outcome of the game, every player held their heads high and supported each other through every move they made. Not one person had a bad attitude or a moment of negativity; they knew that if they didn't get it the first time, they would just try and try again. Never giving up on each other showed an unbelievable amount of sportsmanship and courage. All players treated each other as members of a family. It brings me to tears to think of how much heart they had for each other and for the game. I will never forget this experience."

We are incredibly proud of our students who are extraordinary young people on the court and in the community.

-- Shelley Deutsch
Service Learning Coordinator
Sierra Canyon School