disAbilities in Park City

May 29th, 2018 | Park City Community

Park City is known for many wonderful things from outdoor recreation to world-class arts. However, we at Chin-MacQuoid-Fleming-Harris are perhaps most proud of our community’s commitment to the less fortunate among us. In this entry, we’d like to spotlight a few organizations in our town that make the lives of our physically challenged neighbors more whole.

The Olympics is where heroes are made. The Paralympics is where heroes come.” ― Joey Reiman

Founded in Park City in 1985, the National Ability Center(NAC) is a non-profit organization that shares a vision to provide high-quality, inclusive recreation programs designed for individuals with physical or mental challenges. Participants with orthopedic, spinal cord, neuromuscular, visual and hearing impairments, and cognitive disabilities are furnished with specially designed equipment that allows them to take part in many of the activities offered by NAC. Thanks to the generous support of individual donors, grants from private corporations and foundations, and the community, NAC provides recreational opportunities such as skiing, snowboarding, horseback riding, swimming, sled hockey, cycling, and water-skiing.More than 1,700 volunteers contribute over 32,000 hours annually. Many of the instructors and volunteers are also individuals with disabilities and serve as role models for their participants.

On Saturday, June 2nd, 5:30-10:00pm, pull on your cowboy hat, jeans and boots and join NAC’s annual Barn Party. Bring the whole family to the NAC Ranch for dinner, music, kid’s activities, a mechanical bull, live and silent auction, a saloon, line dancing and more! You’ll enjoy family-friendly activities while supporting their equestrian program.

Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.” –Helen Keller

Two women who have worked for NAC, Taylor Matkins and Katie Holyfield, recently opened Lucky Ones, a coffee shop in the Park City Library. “We are a coffee shop that employs and empowers individuals with disabilities. We want to change the way people see other people,” said Holyfield. Part of the reason for starting a business that employs people with mental and physical disabilities is that oftentimes this population is not able to find jobs. While working with the NAC’s COACH internship program, in which people with different abilities learn skills that could be transferred to a career, Matkins and Holyfield realized that there were very few employers where those skills could be turned into employment. Through Lucky Ones Coffee, they provide a job opportunity that promotes acceptance, independence, inspiration, as well as community inclusion.  “We believe that the only insurmountable disability is a bad attitude.”

“A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” –Christopher Reeve

Park City Transitalso jumps on board to support the physically or mentally challenged by providing transportation services for individuals in Park City who are unable to use the regular bus system due to disabilities. All Park City Transit buses are ADA accessible, but they are also pleased to provide door-to-door para-transit service to ADA certified passengers who cannot ride the fixed route service.

“Just because a man lacks the use of his eyes doesn’t mean he lacks vision.”

– Stevie Wonder

We at Chin-MacQuoid-Fleming-Harris are proud to live and work in a community that works hard to include everyone. We urge you to support and expand our offerings to people with physical and mental challenges. We believe that every life brings irreplaceable value to us all, no matter race, gender, or disability.

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