#50for50: Volume 20
▪️ Kristel Flowers
▪️ 46 years old
▪️ Berks County
“My oldest, Felicia, has multiple special needs. Her support coordinator asked us if we had heard of Special Olympics. And so in 2009, I started her in basketball. And since the beginning, our whole family has been involved. It just blossomed and flourished from the minute we went to practice. It felt like we belonged. Going in I felt like, because I was a single parent, I felt more alone. But I really wanted to involve Felicia in some things. Other places, I would get looks and people would be talking about us. But here everybody was so nice and welcoming, so friendly. … At that time, I didn’t have a support group or anything. I didn’t have friends that understood, not only what she was going through but what I was going through. She had a lot of behaviors. She would elope. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, oppositional defiant disorder and was also intellectually disabled. She was non-verbal until almost third grade and was really struggling in school. Basketball was an outlet for her to use that energy for something positive. She’s met so many new friends and forged so many new relationships. And she’s kept them through all these years. … And I learned as well through all this. When I started, I was a single mom with a cleaning business on the side. Through lots of training and education I went into teaching and now I’m an autistic support paraeducator and going to school for behavioral specialties. This has enhanced my life and my coaching. … I’m not one to sit on the sidelines, so each time we went to practice I was more and more involved. Now I’m the head coach for basketball and I coach floor hockey. I’m also the training coordinator and volunteer coordinator for the county. I’ve never struggled with, “I don’t want to get up today and go to practice.” I associate it with family and I would never want to let my family down. … When Indoor Winter Games was cancelled this year [because of COVID-19], it was taking me a while to process. I was on the phone for five hours. I individually called each athlete and all the parents and told them personally what was going on. Now I talk to everyone on social media, make sure everyone is doing well. And a couple athletes sent me pictures of them playing basketball at home. … Sometimes at practice, I laugh so hard I have to walk away. Everybody is so happy to see you. If everybody could be a part of this, it would definitely enhance their life. It goes beyond giving back to somebody. When you know you’re helping to mold somebody and be there to spread kindness, it makes all the difference.”
