#TEAMCAF MAKES DREAMS COME TRUE & SHARES ADAPTIVE SPORTS EXPERIENCES TO ALL AT THE TOYOTA SPORTS FEST IN LOS ANGELES
Authored by: Alexis Kruger
The Challenged Athletes Foundation was proud to join Toyota, and their sport partners at the Toyota Sports Festival held during the L.A. Auto show (November 18-27, 2022) and over a free sport clinic weekend November 26-27 at L.A. LIVE. At this event, CAF provided a Para-cycling experience indoors where people could try out hand-cycling while riding on a Zwift course on the screen in front of them. Team CAF coaches also led wheelchair basketball, seated throwing, sitting volleyball, and racing wheelchair clinics for the public to try.
Alongside Toyota, our Official Mobility Sponsor, we made dreams come true and presented four life-changing grants over the weekend
- An Össur running prosthetic to 17-year-old Cruz Melendez, a Trabuco Hills High School student who was injured in May 2022. Huge appreciation to Chad Marquis, CPO of Prosthetic & Orthotic Group – Coastal P&O for making this leg for Cruz.
- Wheelchair dancing training expenses to 6-year-old Marlene Moran from Anaheim.
- A Track and Field Racing Wheelchair to 28-year-old Alexis Romero from South Gate (pictured below).
- A Tennis Sport Wheelchair to 52-year-old Rajesh Garg from North Hollywood.
This sports fest included Team USA athlete meet-ups with autograph signing. CAF invited our own Liv Stone-Gold Medalist, Para Surfing and Bethany Zummo-Gold Medalist, Sitting Volleyball to take part. “The Toyota Sports Festival was an incredible event that showcased elite athletes of all abilities and I was honored to be a part of the movement! I loved signing autographs for the public because when I was younger, I always dreamed that I would sign autographs. Now that I did, it was so surreal!”– Liv Stone 💗❤️
