Hoop.Camp Helps Adults and Children With Special Needs The Yucatan Times - The Yucatan Times
go to original October 22, 2022

Founded in 1994 by Steve Garrity, Hoop Camp was created as an event for every adult and young child with special needs. (Sofía Navarro/TYT)

We had the opportunity to meet founder Steve Garrity here in Mérida Yucatán, where he was able to tell us more about this camp and how he was inspired to start it. He explained that Hoop.Camp is a non-profit organization where they are all volunteers, he started the movement because those with special needs didn’t have the same opportunities on a real level as other people do.

Basketball is not the only sport they play, they can also play soccer and American football, their athletes start about 5 years old, and their oldest athlete was 73 years old!

Steve mentioned how the Hoop.Camp takes 10 times more communication, money, volunteering, and preparation because of the special needs of their people. He shared with us how the camp is more than just that, it’s not all about sports but about inclusion, and equal access to opportunities for him, everyone has the same value and chance to become a great sport or whatever they want to be, for that reason they are all about self-confidence.

Steve also shared his thoughts on how Mérida is handling and helping those with special needs: “I am very impressed, I know the effort and resources it takes to help those with special needs, I think is a combination of the parents, extended family, the school’s and government’s support as well as the church, but we need the community’s support to help us out,” he shared.

“The opportunity to help these people out usually comes when you least expect it, the people you don’t know for me became my someday friends, someday we will meet and become friends.” he said.

Read the rest at The Yucatan Times

  Learn about Hoop.Camp