PossAbilities dinner

     Last night we went to the 9th annual PossAbilities dinner. Since Amaya has only been a member of PossAbilities since the summer this is our first one. It was such a wonderful time. The food was delicious, the decor lovely but the best part was being in a room filled with such amazing people. There were about eight hundred in attendance. We got to see some of our friends, we saw a slide show of photos from the past years events, a video promoting the Paralympic team hopefuls for the Rio games in 2016, met some of the athletes that competed in London at the Paralympic games and those that are training for the next Paralympic games. We got to see videos from the PossAbilities members who received scholarships last year. PossAbilities gives scholarships to members to better their lives whether through education, accessibility, equipment to improve quality of life or meet a medial need, for social outings, travel to and/or to participate in a sporting event, or other needs specific to the disabled community. When the awards were handed out for this year we recognized three of the members, who are our friends.  They said over $60,000 dollars was awarded to the group of recipients. Its amazing what PossAbilities does for its members.
    As we watched the slideshows and videos Amaya got excited for the Triathalon that she'll participate in, in the Spring and Camp No Limits (the summer camp she hopes to attend in the Summer). Seeing all the photos made me happy and grateful that Amaya is a part of such a great community. She has so much to look forward to, has benefited greatly from the group in the few months that she's been a part of it. She's been given opportunities, and been involved in several events. Each time she meets new people and gains something from the experience. I've also benefited by being a part of the Moms Night Out group and getting to meet other moms who inspire and motivate me. We're grateful for PossAbilities and look forward to attending the dinner again next year.
     Donations were taken to help PossAbilities continue to help its members. You can choose to donate to help sponsor an athlete or to support the grant and scholarship program.  If you would like to make a tax deductible donation you can do so by mailing a check to:
PossAbilities
25455 Barton Road Suite 109A
Loma Linda, CA 92354

Josh and the girls watching the slide show.

The girls walking over to the dinning area.

Me and Amaya.

Me and Lidie.

Scott MacIntyre sang and played piano for several songs. He had such a lovely voice and it was neat to see him play live. He shared about his life, his time on American Idol and how he's faced the challenges in his life. He shared about how he learned to play piano as a child, when he suffered from stage four kidney failure at age nineteen, his kidney replacement, and his recovery. He was funny, sincere, encouraging and inspirational. He has a book and new CD out that I'm interested in.

The pavilion was large, had an open feeling and was beautifully decorated in gold and silver. 

Josh and Amaya cuddling while watching the awards. 

Amaya checking out her art piece in the silent auction. It went for $55, the second highest bided piece of art there. She was surprised and happy that someone paid that much for it. All proceeds went to benefit PossAbilites.

Amaya and Scott MacIntyre. She really wanted a picture with him and was amazed by him. She thought it was amazing that he played piano so well even though he was blind. Scott and his wife were both very kind to Amaya. Can you read what Amaya's shirt says? Josh made it for her last year. It says, "Born this way." I love it. 

Here's a link to the family photo we took at the event.

http://possabilities.smugmug.com/Parties/possabilities-dinner-2012/i-vRhzHjw/0/S/IMG_6972-S.jpg