Therapy from EmergencyTherapy.com may be your first step in changing your life. This is a story from our sister blog AmericanHelpers.blogspot.com. It shows the courage and story of a remarkable man. We wanted to share this story with you to show you how someone used a terrible experience and turned it into something that has helped thousands of kids.
Blake Rockwell was in New York and had been working in banking and investment management when 9/11/2001 killed thousands of people on Wall Street. Even though his office was located in Midtown Manhattan, he had two coworkers who died - one who was his acting boss for a short time while his permanent boss was on medical leave. A couple weeks after 9/11, a good friend died from lung cancer (a nonsmoker) at the age of 32.
After these experiences, Rockwell says “I began to examine my life and what I was doing with it. I questioned what I was truly passionate about. As a result, I created Special Spectators, a Chicago-based 501(c)(3)nonprofit organization, that creates magical days for seriously ill children and their families at college football games across the United States.”
This organization has been helping thousands of children with their work. Since 2002, Special Spectators has created the quintessential Saturday experience complete with tailgate parties, mascots, cheerleaders and marching bands for approximately 3,800 children and parents. Rockwell says “Over the last five years, we've hosted about 110 game day events that provide these kids with special access to people and areas of the stadium that are not accessible to most fans. Our youngsters tour locker rooms, meet coaches and walk on the field during a time out. The field visit is one of my favorite moments. While the kids are standing on the 50 yard line, a stadium announcement tells the fans why these kids are attending the game, explains Special Spectators and asks the crowd to give the children a warm welcome to the stadium. Typically this results in a standing ovation.”
Special Spectators has grown tremendously since their first season
in 2002 when only two schools participated. They now have nearly 40 including Rutgers, Georgia, Oklahoma, Colorado,
Auburn, Miami, Tennessee, and UCLA.
Blake Rockwell deserves a huge thank you and truly is an American Helper. It is people like him who deserve to be applauded. He took his experience and loss on 9/11 and turned it into creating an organization that touches the lives of thousands of sick children. He might not always hear how much he is appreciated but today we are honoring him and inducting him into our American Helpers Hall Of Fame. Rockwell says “The amazing growth and accomplishments we've made in just 5 years-110 game day events enjoyed by 3,800 seriously ill children and parents-has all been done with only volunteers and a total out of pocket cost of only $40,000! That's a little over $10 per person.”
If you would like to see Special Spectators in action, you can view one of their clips on YouTube at
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%22Special+Spectators%22&search=
For more information about helping this organization please go to
www.SpecialSpectators.org
If you feel you need to make a career change, have a problem you want to overcome, or could use counseling or therapy look at www.emergencytherapy.com to speak with therapists licensed as social workers or psychologists. You might be able to overcome your adversities and create a better life.
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