Special Needs Kids Get Some MAGIC
Every kid deserves a chance – a chance to be on a team and a chance to make new friends. For kids with special needs, that chance isn’t always there. Suzette Llanos is the mother of a child with special needs. “It’s very hard when you have a child with a disability to find where they fit in and uh and to be included and this is an amazing organization that helps us to get our kids and be able to be involved with sports,” said Llanos.
The organization she’s referring to is M.A.G.I.C. It’s a league founded by William Magee, a dad looking to change the lives of not only his children, but the children in his community as well.
“MAGIC is an acronym for Miracles Accessing Games In Collaboration, so we collaborate with neurotypical leagues that don’t have special needs leagues so our kids get to play in the same venues, they get the same uniforms, they get the same pictures and trophies and man we just took off, you know we started with twenty-five kids and now we got like over one hundred,” said Magee.
Along with basketball and baseball, M.A.G.I.C. also creates magical moments that go far beyond the playing field. They hosted a winter formal for the kids that allowed them to dress up, dance, and even featured a red carpet and a couple autographs.
Edgar Oregel volunteers for the organization and was amazed with the special event. “I’ve honestly never seen something more beautiful in my life than I saw a couple weeks ago when we did the winter formal. I saw so many parents, it was just beautiful seeing the kids coming to us to and having somewhere they’re able to go and feel comfortable going to you know,” Oregel said. It’s special moments like these that made Magee want to start the league in the first place.
“Being able to provide something for kids that never thought they’d be able to do it, to provide an opportunity for parents that never thought their kids would be able to play basketball, baseball, soccer, you know like, that’s it for me right there,” Magee said. Making memories, making friends, and creating miracles.
There’s nothing a little magic can’t make help.