San Ardo Aug 14, 2018

For Aera’s Tom Grant, volunteering is a personal reward

Thursday evenings are the highlight of Tom Grant’s week.

After finishing his day as a logistics specialist at Aera’s San Ardo location, Grant heads to nearby Atascadero. There, he’ll coach a variety of sports, including baseball, bocce ball and volleyball, for at least 20 participants. Even line-dancing can be part of the mix.

For Grant, the evening activities go beyond after-work entertainment. They’re part of the North County Adaptive Sports and Recreation Program (NCASARP), where Grant is a volunteer and board member. The nonprofit provides year-round supervised activities for the developmentally disabled of Atascadero, Creston, Templeton, Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo, San Miguel and Morro Bay.

Grant helped form NCASARP in 2011, motivated by a personal need. His daughter, Amy, 34, has Down syndrome.

“There was an absence of a program that provided supervised adaptive sports, recreation and social interaction for the developmentally and intellectually disabled,” he says.

Grant set out to change that, with help from other parents in north San Luis Obispo County. Today, NCASARP is an award-winning program that serves 55 disabled participants aged 17 to 70. The nonprofit organization partners with the City of Atascadero’s Parks and Recreation District, which allows the group to use its gym and other outdoor facilities.

Other key partners

Another key NCASARP partner is the kinesiology department of nearby California Polytechnic State University. Each quarter, the department sends 16 to 18 students to provide weekly, one-on-one tailored coaching for NCASARP participants. As much as the program benefits its participants, says Grant, it also contributes tremendously to the career choices of the Cal Poly students.

“It’s truly heartwarming to watch the interactions and friendships that take place,” he says. “It gives you faith in this next generation. Our athletes welcome each group of students with smiles and open arms. These are basically two groups of people that, if not for our program, may not come together and interact.”

NCASARPs board members and volunteers are parents in the community and Cal Poly professors. The nonprofit is funded by donations from community members, including: The Community Foundation-SLO; Knights of Columbus of Morro Bay; Rotary of Morro Bay; Kiwanis of Atascadero; Aera Energy; Granite Construction, Inc.; and Miner’s Ace Hardware.

“We survive wholly on their generosity,” Grant says.

The donations allow NCASARP to host a variety of events, including dance and pizza parties, barbeques and occasional trips to nearby Cal Poly for a basketball or softball game. NCASARP activities have also included visits to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Disney On Ice, miniature golf, the movies and local parades.

Good for all

Most participants are enrolled in various supported work programs or day-school settings. Some have autism, cerebral palsy or other disabilities. But for all, NCASARP’s activities are their time for fun. That also includes adaptive aquatics on Monday evenings.

“Some of our participants live alone,” says Grant, who’s worked for Aera since 1997. “Our program is often their only social interaction with a group and sports. They all have different levels of developmental and intellectual disabilities, but that disappears when they’re all together.”

Grant himself has been key to NCASARP from the very start, says fellow board member Ron Vasconcellos.

“Not only does Tom volunteer as a parent coach, he created our website, researched and purchased our music sound equipment, wrote grants, and provides his photography skills for fundraising and other needs,” Vasconcellos says. “He’s a doer but very humble.”

Grant waves away any acknowledgement of his contributions. “I’m a father whose daughter participates in NCASARP,” he says. “It makes me feel good to be part of it.”

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