Star-Telegram Profiles “Texas Cup” Wheelchair Rugby Tournament

The Texas Cup  wheelchair rugby tournament was held at UTA on June 26th and 27th.  The TIRR Houston Texans won the tournament with a clean sweep.  Check out some photos taken by the Star Telegram.  Click here for PHOTOS or VIDEO MONTAGE.  We all would like to thank UTA for providing the gym, all of the volunteers that helped out, and our sponsors RISE Adventures and C n R Medical.

Main Street Days Grapevine, May 21-23rd, Fun in the Sun!

Special Thanks goes to Portable Events for providing the awesome stage presentation. Check out this awesome set up at www.portableevents.com and tell Michael RISE sent you. Thanks to our other sponsors for their participation all weekend long; City of Grapevine Parks and Recreation Department, C & R Medical Supplies, Lift-Aids, Pickles Custom Golf, and Adventure Scuba. RISE Staff and Volunteers endured the event demonstrating adaptive equipment and enjoying the festival.  CLICK HERE to see more photos of the event.

ON Magazine Meet and Greet, Thursday, April 30, 2010

ON Magazine Meet and Greet, Thursday, April 30, 2010, was held at Mi Piaci. Paul Riddle, owner of Innovative Direct Media, publisher of the magazine hosted the party along with associates Jana Kirkeby and Kristi Wipperfurth. ON Magazine is a new sponsor of RISE Adventures and our very important mission. Paul Gray/RISE CEO and business associate Julie Saeger/RISE Fundraising, attended the event.  A good time was had by all as we met a lot of new people and shared ideas about furthering our relationship. Welcome aboard ON Magazine! To learn more about the magazine and for advertising information please click on this link.

Southern Methodist University Track Team Raises Funds in their Change Drive!

The Women’s SMU track team held a change drive last fall and collected $722.  They chose RISE Adventures to be their favorite no-profit organization and donated us the money.  Two members, Lauren Kuhner and Kylie Spurgeon, of  the Women’s SMU track team presented the check on Friday night at RISE Adventure’s quad rugby game.   Kylie and Lauren volunteered helping out with the rugby equipment and even played in a few games.  Those track team ladies were fast.  RISE Adventures would like to thank the Women’s SMU track team for their donation.  CLICK HERE for more photos from the event.

RISE Fishing has started for the summer

We took our first fishing trip of the year Saturday night 4-10.  I am pleased to say it was a great success.  Richard Queen and daughter Katie were fishing with us for the second time and on this trip Katie out fished her dad for the second time.  We fished for just a few hours and we caught 20 to 30 fish. That’s a pretty good haul for this early in the season. Hopefully it’s a sign of good things to come for RISE fishing this year. I look forward to more good days and nights on the lake and lots of fish in the boat.  All equipment, food, and drinks are furnished. To make reservations contact Andy Burton at andy-burton@hotmail.com or (214) 476.6048.  CLICK HERE to see more photos.

RISE Hand Cycling MOVES TO NEW TIME AND DATE.

Tons of you missed a great day of sunshine on the biking trail in Irving on Saturday, April 10^th! We had a blast biking around the trail watching individuals and families biking as well as ultimate frisbee competitions on the sports fields you pass by. I love this trail since you can challenge yourself individually for distance and hills if you choose to do so. There is one part of the trail for the easy ride, but I enjoyed the challenge ride and was thankful to take advantage of a beautiful day. Thanks to RISE Adventures, Lift Aids and C&R Medical for allowing this day to be possible! I highly recommend everyone taking advantage of this program that is held weekly!

Lea Stewart

Starting Sunday, May 9^th we move to every Sunday Morning from 9-12 am at the same location, Campion Trails 6030, Riverside Drive Irving, TX 75039.  What to Bring, You!  Friends or family are welcome to ride along side on their bikes. A jacket or sweater as needed. All other equipment is provided. Water too! These trails are one of our favorites. It’s centrally located and the park is well maintained. The paths are wide and the traffic is minimal. For reservations contact Annette Brauer at (972) 978.8903. abrauer@riseadventures.org.

RISE announces Jacque Stauffer as the new Chairperson of the RISE Board of Directors

Jacque Stauffer, Board Chairperson, earned her bachelor’s degree in Special Education and master’s degree in Kinesiology from Texas Woman’s University. While in college, she worked in the Denton Autism Program and taught Adapted Physical Education at Ann Windle School. After graduation, Jacque taught Adapted Physical Education for Little Elm ISD. Adapted PE is a program designed to meet the needs of students with disabilities who cannot fully participate in general physical education.   Jacque is now teaching Special Education in Lewisville ISD.  In addition to teaching, Jacque coaches competitive gymnastics and a special-needs cheer squad in Frisco, TX. She is currently serving as a logistics officer in the Air Force Reserve.

RISE Announces Annette Brauer as our new Volunteer Program Administrator.

Annette is the wife of Rick Brauer, who has been with us for almost three years and an active board member. Her task is to take reservations and make assignments for most of our programs. Welcome to TEAM RISE Annette!

Annette Brauer grew up in New Mexico eventually moving to Lewisville, TX in 1994. She went to work for Xerox where she met her husband Rick Brauer, RISE’s sailing program manager and Board of Directors member. She spent 7 years at Xerox first with customer service, then in the billing department before being diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 37. Annette spent 5 years at home before going back to school and receiving her certification for medical billing and coding.  She spent several years participating in the SCA, an international organization dedicated to researching and re-creating pre 17th century European history. She is a dedicated genealogist.  She worked for a neurologist for 3 years as a receptionist, biller, referral specialist and scheduling tests.  Annette is now dedicating most of her days as Program Administrator for RISE.

Photography at the Dallas Arboretum April 3rd, 2010

Paul–we had a wonderful time with both Scott and the “Amy’s”!  Had an amazing lunch with them, and we weren’t crowded at all!  I know that when we arrived at the handicap lot, the parking staff were very helpful and said if there was no spot, which there was, that we could pull up and do a drop off and then one of us park and take the shuttle, which would have also been fine

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Team RISE vs. Church Group

Murderball, huh?  No kidding!  I heard the sound of those chairs slamming against each other, and I thought there was no way they could get me out there, but it turned out to be one of the coolest sports I have ever played.  Took a while to get used to the chair and to be able to maneuver my way around the court, abut everyone was really patient, and by the end I felt like I sort of had the hang of it.  Fast-paced, intense, great work-out, fun people– it’s a winner!

Rachel McKneely

CLICK HERE to see more photos of the event.

TEAM RISE participated in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade held in Dallas on Saturday, March 13, 2010.

Dressed in green and RISE apparel, RISE Adventures participants pushed, pedaled, walked, and road on the float pulled by the magic bus down the road of the St. Patrick’s parade in Dallas.  The streets were packed with thousands of festive party goers and spectators on a beautiful Saturday morning.  Everyone was draped with colorful beads and bright smiles.  Team RISE quad rugby players bashed it up for the crowd and they would yell “do it again!” every time.  It was a blast, I couldn’t believe how enthusiastic the crowd was, we felt like rock stars!

The RISE Adventures bus pulled a float decorated and sponsored by Dallas Home Renovations while  RISE volunteers and participants threw candy, beads and t-shirts to the cheering crowd.  The 31st annual event on Greenville Avenue drew about 80,000, according to the Dallas Morning News. This was a great event and everyone had a blast, if you missed out be sure to attend next year.  CLICK HERE to see more photos of the parade.  CLICK HERE to see the blog on the Dallas Morning News.

RISE Board Member, Lea Stewart, featured in the February issue of ON Magazine.

RISE Board Member, Lea Stewart, featured in the February issue of ON Magazine.  CLICK HERE for the full story at ON Magazine.

The 2010 Texas Statewide Independent Living Conference was held at the Crowne Plaza Suites in Dallas, March 7-9th, 2010.

RISE received a special invitation from Paula Margeson/REACH to participate with a booth and hosting an adaptive recreational equipment workshop. Regina Blye/Executive Director/TXSILC hosted an excellent conference. We met new friends and recognized old faces. The RISE workshop was hosted by Paul Gray/CEO/RA. Spencer Larimore spoke about Quad Rugby and demonstrated the chairs used to play the sport. Mike Peters demonstrated Hand Cycling and Sled Hockey. Gary Pickle demonstrated Golf and how to use an Adaptive Golf Cart. Gary used Mike as a first time participant for demonstration purposes for this fast growing program. Everyone had a great time working towards a common goal in supporting the disability community.

Texas Thunder Quad Rugby Tournament, February 5-7th Great Results!

We would like to thank all of our volunteers  and sponsors, The Texas Stampede, RISE, C & R Medical,  Lift-Aids, the Hilton Garden Inn, and the City of Irving for helping put on an excellent tournament.  Seven quad rugby teams from across the country came to the city of Irving to compete in this three day event.  The competition was stiff with no teams going undefeated.

CLICK HERE for more photos of the tournament.

Check out the tournament results below…

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Charity Fundraising Rugby Match is a Huge Success!

On Friday December 18, the Dallas Harlequins played  Team RISE Adventures in a charity fund raising Quad rugby event. This year we gathered to help support two charities over the holidays. The event brought in tons of toys for Toys for Tots and some money for Triggers Toys. Both teams brought out numerous fans to support their team and these wonderful charities. Once again Team Rise dominated the scoreboard 56 – 46!  ON Magazine did a photo shoot with RISE and it will soon be profiled in their magazine.

This event wouldn’t have be possible without these great sponsors!  C & R Medical ,  Lift Aids, and  ON magazine

CLICK HERE to see more photos of the event.

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Kayaying in the Cold 11/21/09

It was a cloudy morning on Saturday, November 21, 2009. A few of us were planning to go hand cycling and kayaking. Since it rained the night before the hand cycling trails were completely under water so we went kayaking that day. It was a good thing we decided to go kayaking it was over cast but it was not to cold or hot it was perfect weather. We enjoyed ourselves exploring new areas that we haven’t been before while we were kayaking. I encourage everyone to go out and experience Kayaking.

Russell J. Amaya

To see more photos CLICK HERE.

Hand Cycling continues to add new participants and equipment, Saturday, November 14th!

What a beautiful morning for a nice ride through a beautiful park. Ava brought her kitty cat for a nice ride on her exotic bike. We have added three new hand cycles to the program this month and are purchasing two more high level bikes to keep up with the ever growing demand. This program is for all levels of physical disabilities including but not limited to high level quadriplegics. Starting Saturday, December 5^th the program time changes from 9-12 to our new time 12-3 pm. Please contact Ty Johnson for more information or to participate, bear-tech@msn.com.

CLICK HERE for more photos from the event.

TEAM RISE participates in the Neuro Fitness Foundation Golf Fundraiser, November 9th.

To say the least none of us that played are avid golfers. I think you are supposed to play with a foursome but we didn’t know the rules so played, well, attempted to play with 6 golfers to support our great friends at NFF. Our group only attempted 7 holes and was finally requested to call it a day on the 18^th hole since we were holding up the rest of the real golfers from completing their rounds. Even though our skills were lacking, I promise you our group had more fun than the rest in support of a great cause.  CLICK HERE for more photos of the event.

RISE Photography, “Autumn at the Arboretum” 10/24/09

Nobody can say that photography is boring! I had a great time exploring this program for the first time at the Dallas Arboretum this past weekend. What can I say…, it was beautiful weather in the 70’s, sunny, clear skies, free admission into a well known tourist attraction where plant life and sculptures have more meaning than beauty, free lunch, fun entertainment from RISE volunteers, and most of all a new friendship with Michelle! Click Here to check out our photos and get a glimpse of what we experienced. I challenge you all to come try out this program and build your own memories and new friendships.   Lea

RISE Quad Rugby Keeps Growing (New Video)

The RISE Adventures Quad Rugby program is getting bigger and better.  There are new players showing up every week.  This week we had 18 players.   The competition is getting fierce!  Five of our consistent players now have their own chairs and RISE Adventures provides 13 more chairs!  So come on out and bash it up with us!   No reservations are required for this weekly program.  We play every Friday from 6 pm till 9 pm at the Georgia Farrow Recreation Center.

Georgia Farrow Recreation Center
530 Davis Dr
Irving, TX 75061    click here for map.

Click here for more photos