Hanna McGrath, Author at KnowDifferent.net

Volunteer Gains Much from RCIG

by Hanna McGrath

Susan Lacy has volunteered with many organizations in the Richmond area, but volunteering with River City Inclusive Gymnastics (RCIG) is a very different kind of experience. For the better part of a year, she has been assisting Coaches Mike McGrath and Fletcher Hamblen with kids’ classes that meet on Saturdays at River City Fitness in Manakin-Sabot. “It’s a hands-on experience,” Lacy said. “You just have to jump right in.” On a typical day she might be dragging mats from one side of the expansive gym to the other, lending a shoulder to a balance beam walker, or demonstrating how to crawl under a foam arch at the end of an obstacle course. After two hours, she’s had as much of a work-out as the kids.

In January 2016, River City Inclusive Gymnastics (RCIG) offered its first class to children with and without special needs. Liz Van Ness and Julie Dyke are two parents whose children participate in RCIG and have seen tremendous benefits from the program. Both Van Ness (mother of Graham, 10) and Dyke (mother of Jamie, 10) enrolled their children in the very first RCIG class, and have continued with the weekly classes ever since.

“Gymnastics is something Graham looks forward,” Van Ness says. “It has given him a lot of confidence.” The same can be said for Jamie, whose siblings have participated in other sports programs offered at River City Youth Fitness in Manakin Sabot (where RCIG meets). Now Jamie feels like she belongs at the gym too. Dyke explains, “She loves driving by and pointing out ‘her gym’”. Additionally, RCIG is a great fit for Jamie because it allows her to participate in a group activity without, “all the normal pressures that come with other organized sports,” Van Dyke says. RCIG classes function as a cross between a group and an individual activity. Students go through a series of obstacle courses together, but each can work at their own pace.

Volunteer Gains Much from River City Inclusion Group

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