SUN VALLEY, Idaho — The Challenged Athletes Foundation of Idaho has a mission to empower lives through sport, and the organization continues to grow after it got started in the Gem State a year and a half ago.
Throughout the winter CAF will host kids at clinics in Idaho to help them get outdoors.
At a clinic in Sun Valley, they also had a heartwarming surprise for a boy who has been through a lot.
Three-year-old Teddy Wallace was born with Arthrogryposis, a condition that makes it, so Teddy has a difficult time using his arms and legs.
On Saturday, the Challenged Athletes Foundation presented Teddy with a GRIT offroad wheelchair, the first of its kind.
"It's been such a blessing, I was definitely crying," said Beth Wallace, Teddy's mother. "It is really going to impact the way Teddy is going to get around."
GRIT makes wheelchairs for adults, but through a partnership with CAF, they designed one specifically for Teddy, and after the Wallace family received a grant from CAF, they got a brand new offroad wheelchair.
"We are really trying to push the envelope on innovation and how to get kids out there faster so that they can fall in love with the outdoors," said Jenn Skeesick of the Challenged Athletes Foundation. "Today was a day we knocked down one of those walls."
In 2020, the Challenged Athletes Foundation helped nearly 4,000 people worldwide who received grants worth almost six million dollars.
Idaho's Challenged Athletes Foundation provided 111 grants to athletes in its first year https://t.co/5Glp0YHeTG pic.twitter.com/exW4ooAwCu
— Idaho News 6 (@IdahoNews6) May 12, 2020
But for the Wallace family, this gift was priceless, and they look forward to seeing what the wheelchair will mean for Teddy in the future.
"We love the Challenged Athletes Foundation, we are so grateful for their support and how they have embraced us as a family," said Beth Wallace. "It's just going to be so great to see him adapt to it."
For more information on how to apply for a Challenged Athletes Foundation grant, click here.
