13-year-old William is one of four children with life-threatening or chronic illnesses to be paired with Daemen teams this semester through a partnership Team IMPACT

Daemen Athletics Makes IMPACT on Children's Lives

10/27/2020 12:00:00 PM

By: By Joe Kraus, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant

If you can be anything, be kind.

In what has been a challenging and emotionally-charged year, the Division of Athletics at Daemen College has dedicated their time and energy towards serving as a guiding light for those who need it most – Western New York children facing life-threatening and or chronic illnesses, who just want to make new friends. Through a partnership with Team IMPACT, the Wildcats have accomplished these goals for over five years and are ready for another year of fun.

Formed by Jay Calnan, Dan Kraft and their group of partners in 2011, Team IMPACT was launched with only one mission in mind – to improve the lives of children suffering from life-changing diagnoses by helping them develop emotionally and physically. Nearly a decade later, Team IMPACT, a national nonprofit organization, has matched over 2,000 children with over 55,000 student-athletes at more than 700 colleges and universities nationwide. And, the children don't necessarily have to be sports fans at all in order to be eligible.

"It's about the power of team – that's why it's called Team IMPACT," said Mary Welker, the organization's Regional Director of Matchup for the Northeast. "It's really about that magical thing about being part of a team, where a group of people have your back when things get tough and can help you dig down and fight through and they can celebrate with you when things are going great. And a lot of kids, unfortunately, don't have any of these opportunities because they're in the hospital or out of school or missing things. It's really hard.

This gives them the opportunity to have that feeling of, 'These are my girls or this is my team.'"

The 2020-21 season appears to be the biggest year yet for the Wildcats' partnership with Team IMPACT. At the start of this semester, Daemen's men's and women's basketball and men's and women's volleyball programs were all matched with a child for a two-year commitment. The student-athletes have eagerly embraced having a Team IMPACT child become part of their respective teams, whether it be through dance parties, going out for ice cream or celebrating the holidays together.

For Daemen women's basketball junior Katie Titus, the Team IMPACT partnership has been an incredible experience for her and her teammates both this year and in the past.

"It's really special for us," said Titus, who is the team's liaison with their new child, 16-year-old Anna Rose. "We have this amazing platform as student-athletes and (have) the opportunity to get involved in things like this and the label (of student-athlete). In something like this, we can use that label to bring some positivity to our community, and, I think, if we can share that with a handful of people, then that's our honor."

Titus met with Anna Rose and her family through Zoom this past March, when the COVID outbreak was starting across the country. Coming just weeks after Daemen's historic run to the NCAA tournament was cut short after the virus wiped out the remainder of the collegiate athletics season, Titus said the initial meeting with their newest teammate gave her and the team something to put energy towards during these uncertain times.

"Everything was so up in the air and we had so many uncertainties that having the idea of a match in the coming years and actually getting to meet her virtually, of course, and everything (was great)," said Titus. "It just gave us some sense of unity as a team and some purpose when everything else was so uncertain. We're just excited to have her as part of the team and allow her to experience everything with us."

Since the start of her tenure, Daemen women's basketball head coach Jenepher Banker has emphasized community service as much as the wins and losses to her players, whether walking to support Down Syndrome awareness or fighting for social justice. The fact her players are genuine leaders on and off the court is why Team IMPACT is special to them.

"It's a mix of understanding somebody that's going through a different set of circumstances than themselves and it makes them maybe more compassionate towards people who don't have the same experiences as them," said Banker, who said their Team IMPACT partnership has been player-led. "Most of your basketball players have similar experiences, right? Everybody's from a different culture and a different place. But, they've also been fortunate, and I think that helps them understand that."

The relationship between Daemen and Team IMPACT formed a few years ago.

Welker discovered the Stone's Buddies program at Oishei's Children's Hospital, which is where current Team IMPACT children referred to her receive their treatment. Then, former basketball player Erin Egan played a vital role in expanding Daemen's Team IMPACT partnership through a unique Fellowship, a relationship that caught the attention of athletic director Traci Murphy. Welker said the entire athletic department has been "amazing" to work with.

"The athletic department has an incredibly, incredibly good culture," said Welker. "They have a great vibe. They really want to help people. They get it. They just get the whole thing. There's not a leave of focus. They want to give back. They want to be part of the community. Every coach that I've talked to has been, 'This is so amazing. This is great.' And, just talking to the student-athletes, they're so engaged and they're asking questions and they want to help. And that comes from the administration. They've built the culture of giving back and inclusion and being the impact of what they can do and the power they have to create those opportunities for other people… They're making a big impact on the community, I can tell you that."

Since Team IMPACT's inception, there has been a virtual component of the program. Once COVID-19 began, Team IMPACT moved entirely online. And while teams receive roughly 50 to 60 "virtual huddles" with planned activities, Welker said the student-athletes have created their own ideas, which they all enjoy together. Whether it's sending motivational videos to help a kid complete his physical therapy or becoming pen-pals over the summer, the bonds between the teams and their students become stronger.

"The kids want to connect," said Welker. "They want to feel like they belong with that team. It's the little things."

Before joining this season, Daemen men's volleyball Don Gleason had his players help him conduct after-school clinics for boys and girls in fifth to eighth grades in the Buffalo City School Districts, but admitted he didn't know what Team IMPACT was all about. After meeting 13-year old William months ago, though, Gleason said the program has been a great time so far. Using the app House Party to play UNO and spending time playing corn hole at William's house over the summer were great bonding experiences for everyone involved.

"It's cool because Will is so energetic," said Gleason. "As soon as you get on a Zoom call with him or anything, even if you got a ton of other stuff going on during the day, as soon as you're talking with him for like two seconds, you're all in. You're like, 'This kid's awesome! He's jacked up! I'm jacked up now!' It's really easy to kind of maintain that family culture working with him. He makes it a lot of fun for the guys."

A Childhood and Special Education major at Daemen, Titus said she's connected the dots between what she's learned in classes, her practicum experience and her time with Team IMPACT. Sending a message of inclusion and acceptance and adapting to everyone's needs, Titus said, is what Team IMPACT and Daemen women's basketball both stands for.

"Everyone deserves that right, and, I think a lot of people are oblivious to that," said Titus. "They just don't understand because they've never been exposed to people with chronic or severe disabilities or illnesses and they just aren't aware. And so, communication is a huge way for that be spread.

A lot of people that I talked to have no idea what Team IMPACT is. So, if I can educate one person, and then they can educate one person, together, we can make a huge difference."

When there's a will, there's a way. And while they can't conduct as many in-person activities like they have in the past currently due to COVID restrictions, this won't stop the Wildcats from making memories and being a part of these IMPACT kids' lives.

Recently, Welker sent Gleason a video they had made of Team IMPACT students, featuring his team with William over the summer.

Gleason responded instantly, "He's our guy!"

"And I thought that was awesome," said Welker. "That's the whole point."

For more information, visit teamimpact.org.

Daemen College features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 17 intercollegiate teams. For the latest information on Daemen Athletics, follow the Wildcats via social media on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, or sign up to receive customizable news alerts, e-mail newsletters and weekly schedule alerts.

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