LEXI YOUNGBERG

Hello!

My name is Lexi Youngberg, and when I was sixteen I lost my left leg below the knee due to a boating collision. I have always been an extremely active person. I have been playing soccer since kindergarten and during my sophomore year of high school I was a Junior Varsity captain on my team. I also played Varsity soccer my sophomore year and was on the State Championship team in June of 2009. Shortly after the beginning of my junior year on September 5, 2009, my world drastically changed when I lost my leg. Yet loosing my leg has not slowed me down from doing what I love! By Christmas time that year, I was already up on skies before I could even walk. The opportunity to participate in sports again was not only rehabilitating to me physically but the freedom of mobility again was healing as well. My senior year of high school I played on the Varsity soccer team and was privileged to start many of the games. My passion and perseverance to reclaim my life gave me a new sense of purpose.  My disability opened my eyes to see the opportunities to make a difference in the lives of others. The following spring I decided to get back into the water where the collision occurred and began to wake board and wake surf again. This past summer I was privileged to participate with Adaptive Adventures through numerous wake boarding camps for the disabled. I have also attended snow skiing camps through Adaptive Adventures and have grown to fall in love with the sport even more. This organization has given me so many opportunities to meet amazing people with disabilities who live with tremendous physical challenges but continue to embrace life! Their incredible spirit inspires and motivate me to keep going and never give up! My strength ultimately comes from knowing God has a plan for my life and the example set by two of my friends from high school, Matt and Robby, who lived life to the fullest and both had a passion for sports. While sports has value in everyones life, it is even more important in the life of a person with a disability, this is because the rehabilitating influence sports can have not only on the physical body but also on rehabilitating people with a disability into society helping them gain confidence and independence. However, many people with physical disabilities do not have the financial means to participate. Adaptive Adventures provides the special adaptive sporting equipment, clinics, camps and volunteers necessary to help those with disabilities achieve their dreams. I hope through my story that you see the impact you can make in donating to the charitable organization Adaptive Adventures that provides progressive recreational and sporting opportunities for children, adults and our brave veterans with disabilities to regain their mobility and freedom! Your donation will directly impact the number of participants adaptive adventures can serve making sports a reality for people with physical disabiliies who don't have the financial ability! I have a dream and goal of participating in a in a winter sport in the Paralympics. PLEASE help others and myself accomplish our dreams and goals!