Don’t Limit Leaps Of Faith

To the Editor:

As a mother of two boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, I would like your readers and the Lake Zoar Authority to understand how much the Leaps of Faith Water Ski Club has meant to our family. For the past two summers we have taken the long drive down from New Hampshire to allow Ben and Sam (ages 12 and 10) an opportunity to do something they never thought they could do…leave their wheelchairs behind and spend a day enjoying the freedom and fun of water skiing.

Joel Zeisler and his amazing team of volunteers have given my boys more than just some recreational fun, they have given them courage, faith, and an opportunity to meet other children and adults who have done amazing things in life despite their disabilities. You see, when you are the only child in your neighborhood, your circle of friends, your church or your classroom that uses a wheelchair or has any significant disability at all, it is easy to begin to feel that you are alone, unimportant, or unable to achieve anything of significance in life.

 That is why I cannot understand why the Lake Zoar Authority wants to intentionally discriminate against this wonderful nonprofit organization that is making such an impact in so many lives — skiers, volunteers, and families alike. In addition to the gas expense, if our family had to pay for breakfast, lunch, and a fee to ski because the Lake Zoar Authority is charging the Leaps of Faith Water Ski Club, in this economy, our family would not be able to afford it. If you don’t have a family member with a chronic or life-threatening illness like we do, you may not realize the additional health care, medical equipment, and other costs involved. So, please, don’t limit Leaps of Faith’s ability to make a difference in the lives of Ben and Sam and others.

Lori Safford

Pelham, N.H.                                                                 October 18, 2008