Megan's Basketball Wheelchair Fund
Donation protected
Hi everyone,
...I am needing to ask for help...and I promise you that I would not be asking if I did not believe I really needed it. I need to ask for help to purchase a new basketball wheelchair, spare wheels and other equipment such as tubes, tires, spokes, straps, tools and chair maintenance at shops that I will be needing over the next year as I train my hardest in the hopes of making the National USA Women’s Wheelchair Basketball team to compete at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio De Janeiro. I am asking for $4,700 as all of this equipment Is extremely expensive! :/
Making it to the Paralympics has been my goal for the past six years of my life...
After getting into a motorcycle accident, breaking my back, and becoming paralyzed from the waist down one month after I graduated High School...Wheelchair Basketball has been that light at the end of the tunnel for me.
When this accident happened to me I felt so much regret for all of the things that I didn’t do when I had the chance to do them. The biggest regret being that I didn’t push myself harder in sports. It wasn’t just that I didn’t push myself in sports that bothered me...it was the fact that the reason I didn’t was because I never believed in myself. I never thought anything I did was good enough and I held back because I was scared of letting myself and everyone around me down.
One of the hardest things about this accident was having these opportunities taken away from me...and thinking I would never have the chance to try again.
After my accident I felt like I didn’t belong anywhere. Everywhere I looked I only saw able-bodied people, able-bodied things...and over all...I only saw an able-bodied way of life and the life that I no longer had.
I spent the first year after my accident just trying to make it through each day. I was having a hard time finding a reason to get up each morning.
There were four main things that helped me get through all of this.
1. Believing that everything happens for a reason.
2. Realizing that by helping myself I am helping other people.
3. Getting to be surrounded by so many amazing people that I know care about me and want to see me succeed.
4. And playing Wheelchair Basketball
I first heard about Wheelchair Basketball one year after my accident and I knew right away that it was my second chance. The two goals I set for myself were to play Wheelchair Basketball in College and to make it to the Paralympics.
I swore that I would never again take for granted the opportunities that I have when I have them because you never know when they won’t be there anymore.
In 2011 I received a scholarship to play at The University of Illinois. I transferred with my Associates degree from Tacoma Community College and graduated with my bachelors in Psychology in 2014.That year I also tried out for and made my first National team where I competed at the 2014 Wheelchair Basketball World Championships in Toronto.
After I graduated I knew that if I wanted to make it to the 2016 Paralympics I needed to continue training at the University of Illinois where I would get the coaching and competition that I need. And since I am eligible to play for five years, I made the decision to stay and pursue a master’s degree in Social Work.
I am now only one year away from the 2016 Paralympics. It is my last chance to give it my all and do everything I can to make the USA National team. And I need a chair that will fit me better and not hold me back from the player that I know I can be. A chair that fits perfectly makes a huge difference. A chair that is too big for you is like wearing size 12 shoes while playing basketball when you really need size 7... The only difference is that I don't have the option to just go into a store and buy a new pair of basketball shoes for $30 :/
I tried to buy this chair on my own...but the reality is that maxing out all of my credit cards...with no way to pay them off...and still owing more money for the chair...with no way to ever catch up...doesn’t really work. And I have realized that I really do need to ask for this help. Anything you could do to help at all will be so much appreciated!
I hope that you all know how much your support has meant to me throughout everything. I know that I would not be where I am today if it weren’t for all of the amazing people in my life that have supported and encouraged me to keep pushing forward.
To me...making it to the Paralympics means overcoming everything that has ever tried to hold me back...including myself. It is about becoming a stronger person and the best person I can be so that I can know what it takes to get to where you want to be in life and I can help other people that are also going through hard times and want a better life :)
Whether I make the team or not...at least I will know I gave it my all and have no regrets for not trying :) ❤️
...I am needing to ask for help...and I promise you that I would not be asking if I did not believe I really needed it. I need to ask for help to purchase a new basketball wheelchair, spare wheels and other equipment such as tubes, tires, spokes, straps, tools and chair maintenance at shops that I will be needing over the next year as I train my hardest in the hopes of making the National USA Women’s Wheelchair Basketball team to compete at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio De Janeiro. I am asking for $4,700 as all of this equipment Is extremely expensive! :/
Making it to the Paralympics has been my goal for the past six years of my life...
After getting into a motorcycle accident, breaking my back, and becoming paralyzed from the waist down one month after I graduated High School...Wheelchair Basketball has been that light at the end of the tunnel for me.
When this accident happened to me I felt so much regret for all of the things that I didn’t do when I had the chance to do them. The biggest regret being that I didn’t push myself harder in sports. It wasn’t just that I didn’t push myself in sports that bothered me...it was the fact that the reason I didn’t was because I never believed in myself. I never thought anything I did was good enough and I held back because I was scared of letting myself and everyone around me down.
One of the hardest things about this accident was having these opportunities taken away from me...and thinking I would never have the chance to try again.
After my accident I felt like I didn’t belong anywhere. Everywhere I looked I only saw able-bodied people, able-bodied things...and over all...I only saw an able-bodied way of life and the life that I no longer had.
I spent the first year after my accident just trying to make it through each day. I was having a hard time finding a reason to get up each morning.
There were four main things that helped me get through all of this.
1. Believing that everything happens for a reason.
2. Realizing that by helping myself I am helping other people.
3. Getting to be surrounded by so many amazing people that I know care about me and want to see me succeed.
4. And playing Wheelchair Basketball
I first heard about Wheelchair Basketball one year after my accident and I knew right away that it was my second chance. The two goals I set for myself were to play Wheelchair Basketball in College and to make it to the Paralympics.
I swore that I would never again take for granted the opportunities that I have when I have them because you never know when they won’t be there anymore.
In 2011 I received a scholarship to play at The University of Illinois. I transferred with my Associates degree from Tacoma Community College and graduated with my bachelors in Psychology in 2014.That year I also tried out for and made my first National team where I competed at the 2014 Wheelchair Basketball World Championships in Toronto.
After I graduated I knew that if I wanted to make it to the 2016 Paralympics I needed to continue training at the University of Illinois where I would get the coaching and competition that I need. And since I am eligible to play for five years, I made the decision to stay and pursue a master’s degree in Social Work.
I am now only one year away from the 2016 Paralympics. It is my last chance to give it my all and do everything I can to make the USA National team. And I need a chair that will fit me better and not hold me back from the player that I know I can be. A chair that fits perfectly makes a huge difference. A chair that is too big for you is like wearing size 12 shoes while playing basketball when you really need size 7... The only difference is that I don't have the option to just go into a store and buy a new pair of basketball shoes for $30 :/
I tried to buy this chair on my own...but the reality is that maxing out all of my credit cards...with no way to pay them off...and still owing more money for the chair...with no way to ever catch up...doesn’t really work. And I have realized that I really do need to ask for this help. Anything you could do to help at all will be so much appreciated!
I hope that you all know how much your support has meant to me throughout everything. I know that I would not be where I am today if it weren’t for all of the amazing people in my life that have supported and encouraged me to keep pushing forward.
To me...making it to the Paralympics means overcoming everything that has ever tried to hold me back...including myself. It is about becoming a stronger person and the best person I can be so that I can know what it takes to get to where you want to be in life and I can help other people that are also going through hard times and want a better life :)
Whether I make the team or not...at least I will know I gave it my all and have no regrets for not trying :) ❤️
Organizer and beneficiary
Megan Blunk
Organizer
Gig Harbor, WA
Marshall Pinto
Beneficiary