Employees of a Connecticut movie theater got a major league surprise when members of the New York Yankees dropped in on a staff meeting.
Most of the employees at the Prospector Ridgefield theater are disabled. The players and managers stopped by as part of HOPE Week (Helping Others Persevere and Excel). The program recognizes people who make a difference in their communities.
On Tuesday, they where at the theater to honor its founder, Valerie Jenson, who made it a priority to provide job opportunities to the disabled. About 65% of her 110 employees have some form of physical or developmental disability.
Jensen, who opened the theater last year, calls her employees “prospects,” a play on the name of the theater, but also a way of telling the world about their potential.
• SEE More Inspiring Baseball Stories at Good News Network
Players Brian McCann and Chase Headley, along with manager Joe Girardi and the team’s general manager, Brian Cashman, presented Jensen with a $10,000 check to continue her work. The team also invited Jensen and one of her prospects to throw the ceremonial first pitch in their game against the Minnesota Twins later that night.
(WATCH the video below from NBC News) — Photos: New York Yankees
So great to see our friends from the Prospector Theater toss out the ceremonial 1st pitches at The Stadium! #HOPEWeek pic.twitter.com/eTEptfZJFY
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 18, 2015Make Sure Your Friends Catch This Story, Share It…
As a special education teacher I thoroughly enjoyed reading about what the things that Prospector Ridgefield theater does for people with disabilities, as well as what the Yankees did for the theater. However, I would prefer that people with disabilities not be referred to as disabled people. Although they do have disabilities, and if we are truly honest with ourselves everyone has a disability to a certain extent, their disabilities do not define who they are. I think that referring people with disabilities as disabled people makes the rest of the world blind to the amazing things that people with disabilities can actually do.
We here in Houston Texas with the Jewish Family Service use the phrase
Folks with Real Abilities I find it more inclusive and it reminds me to check if I am using my real abilities as well.
Breat reporting on Connecticut and the New York Yankees