SPECIAL NEEDS CLIMBING EVENTS COME TO GREATER SEATTLE

A young man with physical and developmental challenges enjoys the opportunity to experience rock wall climbing at a recent Courageous Kids Climbing event held in Henderson, Nevada. The organization will be visiting Auburn and Bothell to share the climbing experience with local people with special needs.

Up to twenty people between the ages of 4-years and 103-years will be invited to participate in a Courageous Kids Climbing event to be held on June 5 at the Auburn YMCA and on June 6 at the YMCA’s Northshore Climbing Tower in Bothell. Both events will run from noon until 2:00 pm. There is no charge to participate but reservations are required.

Courageous Kids Climbing is a nonprofit that provides free opportunities for people with special needs, physical or developmental, to experience the various forms of rock climbing at events held in Washington, Idaho, California, Nevada and Arizona. Since 2014, the organization has conducted 82 events with 921 participants.

Rock wall climbing is a safe event in which the kids wear safety harnesses while they climb and are under the supervision of coaches. Climbing adds the participants in building confidence while helping with their focusing and problem-solving skills. For those participants with physical challenges and weighing under 300-pounds, they are taken out of the horizontal world and given the chance to experience the vertical world. The organization travels with a cache of equipment that allows them to share the climbing experience with anyone, regardless of their challenges.

This will be Courageous Kids Climbing’s first ever visit to the greater Seattle area. They currently conduct events in Spokane, Spokane Valley, Pullman, Wenatchee, Ellensburg and Longbranch in Washington while also conducting numerous other events around the western US.

Event coordinator Jeff Riechmann said, “We are very excited to be partnering with the YMCAs of Seattle in making these events happen. Because of the fabulous support of the YMCA, we are able to share the climbing experience with these kids.”

Riechmann pointed out that the organization is looking for volunteers to serve as coaches for the climbers as well as to fill a couple of other roles. Anyone interested in volunteering should contact Riechmann

For more information on the event or to help by sponsoring the event, contact Riechmann at courageouskidsclimbing@gmail.com or visit their Facebook page.