KC NWSL partners with Variety KC to provide adaptive bicycle for 3-year-old girl
The inclusion revolution is continuing to sweep across Kansas City’s professional soccer teams.
Having already partnered with Sporting Kansas City to make Children’s Mercy Park the most inclusive stadium in the world, Kansas City-based charity Variety KC paid a visit to Kansas City NWSL’s practice on Friday afternoon.
Variety Chief Inclusion Officer Deborah Wiebrecht was accompanied by 3-year-old Haylee Kennedy and her family to watch Kansas City’s practice ahead of the team’s home National Women’s Soccer League game on Sunday.
But they weren’t just there to watch practice. In a complete surprise to Haylee, she was presented with an adaptive bicycle raised through funds from autographed jersey sales of KC’s Challenge Cup jersey in April.
Haylee was born with RYR1 — also known as Central Core Disease — which is a disease that causes muscle weakness from birth. Haylee is unable to stand or walk on her own, but the specially designed bike will allow her to play with her brother, Kaden, and other children in her neighborhood.
“Today, we’re about to honor Haylee with a surprise with an adaptive bicycle,” Wiebrecht said ahead of the unveiling. “This adaptive bicycle is custom-made for Haylee to allow her to get the therapy and exercise that she needs as well as to be included — included in her neighborhood and family because every child deserves to ride a bike.”
Variety KC was the first organization that KC NWSL partnered with upon arriving in the city in late 2020. The volunteer-driven charity provides children with developmental disabilities equipment and opportunities to allow them to participate in activities enjoyed by all children.
The club auctioned off signed jerseys of its first-ever set of jerseys in the 2021 Challenge Cup, raising $10,500 for Variety KC.
That investment led to the bicycle that will allow Haylee to play with her peers. The bicycle features handlebars that extend close to her body so she doesn’t have to raise her arms as far, straps on the pedals for her feet, and three wheels and a handle at the back of the bike to help with steering.
“It’s amazing that there is a bike out there that she can use, but it’s not affordable,” said Haylee’s mother, Kati. “It’s not something that we can just go out and buy ourselves. So Variety KC is an amazing organization that we were able to fundraise and get the bike through Variety KC.”
Following the unveiling, Haylee had the opportunity to ride the bike in front of the whole team as they yelled a loud “Haylee, Baby” led by Lo LaBonta. The team also handed Haylee a signed soccer ball and goalkeeper Adrianna Franch accepted a Variety KC wristband that she said she’d wear moving forward.
“We’re so proud of this effort that teams like this will help us raise money to make those efforts come true for these families,” Wiebrecht said.
But Haylee’s bike is not the only thing the donated money has gone toward.
Variety KC has already added sensory backpacks that are free to check out at Legends Field, where KC NWSL plays its home games, which include headphones, weighted blankets, fidget toys and battery chargers.
The charity also plans on building adult-sized changing tables at the stadium in Kansas City, Kan., as well as making the playground situated on the southeast corner of the stadium inclusive for all children.
All these features will also be accessible at Kansas City Monarchs baseball games,
“It’s important for all families to be able to enjoy a match,” said KC NWSL vice president of community relations Ben Aken. “It’s not fair that only families with able-bodied kids are able to experience the fun of a soccer game. So it’s cool to provide just little touches at our games just to allow families to be able to attend.”
This story was originally published September 3, 2021 at 5:01 PM with the headline "KC NWSL partners with Variety KC to provide adaptive bicycle for 3-year-old girl."