The Howell Unified sports program, which teams students with special needs with general education students, has become a success in its five years of existence.
But that success comes with a cost, and the Coach Minock Varsity Club Foundation was happy to help.
The VCF recently gave the Howell United program a check for $4,000 to help cover the cost of transportation, uniforms and other expenses.
“We hver snacks, pregame meals, things like that,” says co-founder Susie Mitchell, a special education teacher at Howell High School. “We have an end of the year banquet. We have senior night, (and) all those things add up. So it’ll be really nice to have this money to help us with those additional expenses.”
The Howell United program offers five sports: Soccer, basketball, pom, bocce and archery.
Unlike high school sports, which are pay-to-play, the Howell Unified program raises its own funds to offer participants the chance to play for free.
It gets there with a grant from Special Olympics, a returnable can drive, and an event at Buffalo Wild Wings of Howell.
Jeff Minock, founder of the Varsity Club Foundation and a lifelong Howell resident, was contacted by Mary Benear of the Howell high School athletic department.
“She tipped us off as to the great things this program does for kids with special needs,” Minock said. “We thought it was a great opportunity to donate some money for a great cause.”
The VCF had originally settled on $3,500 donation.
“I thought about it for a little bit after I talked (with Howell United), and they were so excited to give them an extra $500,” Minock said.
It’s the largest single donation in the organization’s history.
“We are so appreciative of this generous gift,” Mitchell said. “We really are grateful. It will go a long way as far as expenses go and it takes the pressure off some of our other fundraising.
We’ll also be able to take a look at some additional things for teams we’ve put off buying because we’re trying to be careful with our budget.”
Howell United athletes compete in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association with Hartland, Brighton, Novi and Northville. In addition, Fowerville offered a unified basketball team for the first time last winter.
“The special ed kids are our players,” says Lauren Schmalz, who runs the program with Mitchell. “They get to feel included and being part of a team. A lot of the high school teams play at too much of a competitive level for our kids to truly get that experience. On our unified team, they have the support of their partners, which would be the general ed kids. and they get to truly be a team.”
Both players and their general ed partners can participate in one or all five sports offered.
Lauren Smith, who will be a junior in the fall, participates in soccer, pom and archery.
Asked what she enjoys about it, Smith said, “just hanging out with everybody and seeing all the smiles on everybody’s faces? It makes it so much fun. I have gained so many friends from it that I probably would have never met.”
And her two years of participation have her considering a major in special education when she goes to college.
Tyler Socia, who will be a senior next fall, talks iof the perspective he has gained in his two years on the team.
“In Unified, it’s kind of special because you get to see what kids are willing to be a part of the team and like how that team grows over time. It’s a really cool experience in that way and that’s kind of why I benefit, you get to work with these kids and then you get to know more about yourself as time goes on and these kids and in a way you also grow.”
Socia says Unified basketball is his favorite sport.
“The basketball games can get really intense sometimes,” he said. It sounds kind of odd and weird in a way, but it gets super hyped up in there and like super loud sometimes and it’s just fun.”
Schmalz says the program is fully supported by school staff and administrators.
“Everybody is so on board with this,” she said. “We have our home game, and even some of our away games, they all come, you, I mean, it is like the coolest experience because everyone’s right on their seats. The games are so intense.
“We couldn’t do all this,” she adds, “without having such great support from our school.”
Contact Lauren Schmalz at schmalzl@howellschools.com and Susie Mitchell at at mitchels@howellschools.com.
Click here for information about the Varsity Club Foundation.
