Marin County woman's organization gives opportunity for all to play sports
MILL VALLEY (KPIX 5) -- Thanks to a Mill Valley woman, thousands of people with physical and developmental disabilities are no longer sitting on the sidelines. Instead, they are in the game.
Players score runs but they don't keep score, no one strikes out and batters can get helping hands.
Dozens of participants with physical and developmental disabilities get to play baseball in the Mill Valley Challenger League that Janet Miller founded in 2008.
Miller's son Connor was diagnosed with qualities of autism. Baseball gave him and others a place to grow and belong.
"We had some players who, when they first came, didn't talk. They were uncomfortable with language. They found a voice," Miller said.
The program was a hit.
"And then parents just kept asking for more: 'Janet, what about basketball? What about tennis?'" Miller explained.
So she added more sports and even a summer camp with a non-profit she co-founded with her other son, Tyler, about 12 years ago.
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The organization is called Project Awareness and Special Sports, or PAASS. This year, up to 150 people between the ages of 5 and 22 will participate for free.
Janeen Swan's 12-year-old son has played sports with PAASS for four years. She says the experience has been a game-changer.
"It's the best thing we stumbled upon and it changed our lives," Swan said. "It allows him to be a participant and be just like everybody else. And it provided him with friends, events every weekend that work for him, so it was really amazing."
It's also created a community for players' families and people who help with PAASS. Volunteers like Trevor Islam say the experience has opened his eyes and heart.
"It's made me a lot more compassionate and a lot more flexible," Islam said.
Fellow volunteer Sydney Boyd says Miller has created an inclusive environment where everyone wins.
"She's definitely one of my role models. I want to do something similar in my life so seeing someone who's able to do it all is really inspiring." Boyd said.
LEARN MORE: Jefferson Awards for Public Service
Miller also created It Takes a Village, a partnership with the Mill Valley School District to build support for special needs students.
In addition, she has been able to hire people living with disabilities in her executive job at a workers comp insurance company.
She's also working on a new project: starting a job training program with a coffee cart business. Miller tells KPIX there's still much more work to do.
"It's having people acknowledge the amazing gifts and strengths that people with disabilities have to offer, and I absolutely want to change that dialogue," Miller said.
So for creating free sports opportunities for people with developmental and physical challenges, this week's Jefferson Award in the Bay Area goes to Janet Miller.