Non-profit organization USA Patriots is working to have a positive impact on kids with limb differences with a special summer camp!
Formerly known as the Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team (WWAST), USA Patriots work to bring athletic and veteran amputees together to promote the benefits of inclusive sport and therapeutic recreational activities. This softball team is comprised of veterans who’ve lost limbs in combat and non-combat-related injuries and it travels around the U.S., competing against able-bodied teams. Their mission now trickles over to children with a week-long camp for disabled kids all over the country.
The camp accepts children ages 8 to 12 and is hosted at Virginia Wesleyan University in Virginia Beach. The USA Patriots pays for all the expenses for each child and one guardian. During the camp, these kids are able to play softball and connect with wounded veterans who have gone through trauma like them. As they learn the sport, these kids are finding confidence in themselves and their physical abilities again.
“We wanna show you we got knocked down, but we got right back up,” Josh Wege, one of the veterans involved, told Inside Edition.com. Josh lost his legs in Afghanistan after the car he was in hit an IED (improvised explosive device). However, he refuses to let that stop him from competing with his team or living life. “I don’t put on socks and shoes in the morning,” he said. “I strap legs onto my body to be able to walk. So life taught me perspective. My injury taught me perspective. And I can share that with anyone else that comes out.”
Take a look at the camp below!
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