Jude's Next Team

Jude’s Next Team
 
Here’s the chance to make the impossible a possibility. Help the Monroe High School Trojan Marching Band raise the necessary funds to allow Jude to participate. Your support will help not only Jude, but will offer accessibility to students of all abilities.
 
Our Goal: Raise $35,000 for percussion equipment to make it possible for Jude to join the band. Since Jude can’t march on the field, we will build a stationary percussion ensemble at MHS. We’ll empower Jude and his teammates to be a part of something bigger than themselves and add their music and spirit.
 
An anonymous donor has agreed to spearhead this project with a donation of $5,000. Your contribution will build on this foundation.
 
Meet Jude
 
Have you ever wondered what it looks like to do the impossible? Meet Jude Stamper. He does it every day. Jude is a 14-year-old boy from Monroe, Michigan. Among his many talents are playing both the piano and the saxophone, memorizing countless sports statistics, and destroying the neighborhood kids on his Xbox (NBA 2k19 is his weapon of choice…you might stand a chance). Unlike his friends, though, Jude gets around in a wheelchair.
 
Jude was diagnosed at birth with Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita disorder (AMC), Escobar syndrome, and prune belly. He’s endured 10 surgeries and a lifetime of physical and occupational therapy. But still, for Jude, normal mobility is an enormous challenge. He can’t achieve normal functionality in his joints, let alone play sports or march in the band.
 
Regardless, Jude’s dream is to be part of a team. His undeterred will, and maybe some fate, made that reality. Partnering in 2017 with Team IMPACT, a nonprofit that connects children facing life-threatening or chronic illnesses with local college athletic teams, Jude found his team. When he was 12 years old, Jude officially signed a Letter of Intent to join the University of Michigan men’s basketball team.


 
            “Being a part of a team was like being a part of a big family,” Jude recalls.“Everybody was my friend, and they really treated me as a teammate. It was really fun to watch the guys grow as a basketball team and overcome the challenges they faced. As you can see, I’m not really able to participate in any sports. Watching them is a passion of mine and being a part of a team that I’m otherwise not able to be on was a dream come true. The thing I will miss the most is going to practice the night before a game and watching them prepare for the game, then celebrating the win with them the next day. I’m going to miss seeing Coach (John Beilein)and seeing the guys. I’ll probably still be able to text some of the guys, but I’ll miss seeing them.”


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-zLxUs8Wno
 
Now comes the next big step in any kid’s life – starting high school. Transitioning to high school with a disability poses unique challenges for Jude, outside of the rigors of academic and social life. Luckily, Jude likes challenges. What he needs, though, is a new team.
 
Enter the Monroe High School Trojan Marching Band.
 
Comprised of over 100 tight-knit, like-minded, hard-working MHS students, the Trojan Marching Band comes together every summer to master the physical, musical, and cultural expertise that it takes to move as one unit. Countless hours of work. Exhausting preparation. In the end, the band finds one rhythm, one beat, and represents Monroe in countless parades, football games, and competitions.  

This, Jude hopes, will be his new team.
 
            “I’m really excited to be a part of the marching band family because of the opportunities for my future and for me to grow musically,” Jude says. “I can’t wait to play synthesizer in the pit, and I think the front ensemble will be an awesome new addition to the marching band." 


 
Monroe’s band director is excited to be involved in spearheading Jude’s involvement with the band.
 
This is a dream that needs a plan. Increasing accessibility for Jude and any other child with similar needs requires funding beyond what’s feasible for a public-school budget.

We need high-quality stationary percussion instruments that meet students’ abilities. Marimbas, Vibraphones, and electric synthesizers add a whole new musical element to the band and meet the students where they’re at, both physically and intellectually. At an average cost of $4,000 per instrument, we can only make this dream a reality with external funding.
 
            “Our collective vision for the TMB has always been about developing students into well-rounded people,” says Monroe Director Joseph Swinkey. “Having Jude join us this year brings us many challenges, but twice as many possibilities. This has always been about giving every kid a chance to work hard and be a part of something bigger than themselves.”
 
Jude knows something about limitations. He also knows about defying them. He hopes to help others do the same.
           
“Yeah, there have been plenty of times when I haven’t been able to do things, but I always find ways to adapt,” Jude says. “If other people could participate in things like this, it would make me feel great. Marching band should be for everyone – I feel like everyone should have the opportunity to do things like this, no matter their limitations. Just because someone has restrictions doesn’t mean they can’t participate in things like this.”

Every donation counts. Every step of the way, Jude has made the impossible possible. Help us empower his next team.