Blackout Football Games Benefit Easter Seals

2010 will mark the third season for "Black Out" football games. The fundraiser for Easter Seals was started by Elmwood/Brimfield coach Todd Hollis. Football coaches, if you would like to participate this fall, please read below. If you could, pass this along to your football coach to see if there would be interest. Also below is how the fundraiser began.

	Blackout 2010

May 13, 2010

Dear Coach,

Two years ago, the Blackout for Easter Seals started with the football game between Elmwood/Brimfield and Alwood/ROWVA. That event raised over $5000 for the children who receive services at Easter Seals. The 2009 season witnessed the events growth to include twenty-four teams in central Illinois, raising over $50,000! The goal for 2010 is for over forty teams to participate, and I hope you will accept this invitation to be one of those teams. This event has a lot to offer your players, school and community, not to mention the children who receive Easter Seals services.

How will your program benefit from the Blackout? This event will provide a very real opportunity for you to teach your players about life outside of the game of football. One way to do this would be the utilization of the four-week educational program that has been developed specifically for high school football programs in central Illinois. Four short videos (3 to 5 minutes each), each highlighting one child who receives Easter Seals services, can be shown prior to your weekly film sessions. Your players will become aware of various disabilities from the perspective of the child and his parents. Or, you could take part or all of your team on a tour of one of the central Illinois Easter Seals facilities (Peoria, Bloomington, Decatur). The will witness first hand the amazing work that Easter Seals does to help young people. Finally, on the evening of the Blackout game, your stands will be packed with fans (hopefully from both schools) wearing black t-shirts. Your players will see that all of those people are there to watch them play the game of football for the good of the kids at Easter Seals. At the very least, your players will be humbled by the experience.

How will your school benefit from the Blackout? The benefits are numerous and far reaching. Your players, as they gain a greater understanding of disabilities through the educational program or touring, will inevitably educate their fellow classmates. A “Blackout Friday” is an awesome experience, with students from one end of the school to the other wearing the Blackout t-shirts. School spirit will be high as the football program is the focal point of a great effort to raise funds and awareness. Your school (and program) will also receive some great television and newspaper press from the event.

How will your community benefit from the Blackout? The community will benefit in many of the same ways as the school. Additionally, community awareness of the mission of Easter Seals will be increased. People in town will be excited about the football program and the event. Citizens with family members who have disabilities and/or have received Easter Seals services will feel a connection to the school and the football program.

The response in 2009 to the Blackout was amazing and showed how willing football coaches are to provide their players with opportunities to grow beyond the game. By achieving our goal of 40+ schools for 2010, high school football in central Illinois will reach new levels of involvement and excitement! Additionally, this effort is growing across the state, with schools in both the Chicago and St. Louis areas signing on to benefit their area affiliates. High school football in Illinois will be making a huge impact this fall!

If you are interested in bringing the Blackout to your school, please contact me ASAP at thollis@elmwood322.com or (309)742-2851.

Sincerely,

Todd Hollis

Head Football Coach

Elmwood/Brimfield Coop

The Story behind the Elmwood/Brimfield "Black Out" Games

The Impact of the Blackout – 2009 Trojans Football

Two years ago we visited Easter Seals in Peoria for our first-ever tour. The players witnessed one little girl, Sam, going through her physical therapy session. Sam has cerebral palsy, so her muscles are very tight and she has difficulty walking in a way that is considered "normal." At the time, Sam was four and a major accomplishment for her during therapy was for her to be able to step over a hula hoop on the floor. Not jump over, just to pick her feet up high enough to step over the hula hoop. We can run, jump, catch and throw with minimal effort, all things that Sam would have to strain to do even to a small degree, yet Sam had a great attitude. It was a bit humbling to see.

Last year we returned to Easter Seals. Sam happened to be there again, this time doing physical therapy in the warm-water pool. It helps to relax her muscles. She then came to talk to us with her mother. In one year's time Sam had progressed to the point that she was playing soccer. Not like most kids, because she still struggled to walk and run, but she had progressed to the point that she could go out on the field and participate. We were amazed and saw that the money they were raising really did help kids in very real ways.

This year we returned for a third tour. Sam was back again, and not by chance. At six years old she took the team through her physical therapy session. She told the players why she did certain exercises and what the purpose for each activity was. At first look Sam appeared to have regressed. And, in certain ways, she had. And here's why: Sam was having to learn to walk again because just three months prior to our visit she had gone to Chicago for surgery. In that surgery doctors had to break both of her hips, both of her thigh bones, and had to cut and lengthen both of her hamstrings. The surgery allowed doctors to straighten the bones that had been bent over time by Sam's constantly tight muscles. It also allowed her to fully extend her legs for the first time in her life. Until the surgery Sam had walked on her toes 100% of the time and had a bent-over posture as a result. Now her feet were flat on the ground and she had to learn to walk upright to maintain balance. The almost daily therapy that she receives at Easter Seals has allowed her to learn these new skills, skills that we never give a second thought to. Sam's attitude is as great as ever, maybe even better. If our first meeting with her was humbling, this third meeting went beyond description.

Tomorrow night our team will get a chance to run onto the field under the lights and play a game. The physical and mental gifts that each player has been given will be on display and cheered for by moms, dads, and fans. Let us be mindful of the fact that we have been given those gifts and that there are many young people who do not possess those natural abilities and cannot participate in activities like football, but strive to excel at the activities they are capable of. By playing tomorrow night, with those young people in mind, we can honor their gifts and hard work as well.