Center for Disabilities celebrates 50 years of serving South Dakota
The Center for Disabilities, in recognition of its 50th anniversary, hosted a Run, Walk & Roll fundraiser Sept. 25 at Cherry Rock Park in Sioux Falls. The Run, Walk & Roll precedes the 50th Anniversary Celebration Sept. 29 and a statewide conference this week.
Kendra Gottsleben is the marketing communications specialist for the Center for Disabilities, and said the goal of the Center for Disabilities is to improve the lives of individuals with disabilities.
“Our ultimate goal and mission is to improve the lives of individuals with disabilities and their families through research services, education, information dissemination and policy effort,” Gottsleben said.
Eric Kurtz, the executive director for the Center for Disabilities, said the Run, Walk & Roll is a way to spread awareness.
“We carry our work out through research, human services, education, and we do a lot of policy work to bring awareness to that very important work that our center is involved in. Using the 50th anniversary is kind of the reason to celebrate. We decided to run in a great way to build that awareness to bring in new people and new partnerships to our work,” Kurtz said.
The Center for Disabilities partnered with 605 Running Company from Sioux Falls for their first run, Gottsleben said.
“(The event) is for all ages and all abilities and that’s one of the things, the Center for Disabilities is always… dedicated to the lives without limits, so we really promote and really try to help the community,” Gottsleben said.
Brandon Wenzel, the senior secretary of the Center for Disabilities, said the Run, Walk & Roll had a total of 85 registrations.
“Not a lot of people know that we exist or the services that we offer. So, we really wanted to get our name out in public,” Wenzel said. “And to show one that people with disabilities can get out and do things like walk or roll or run and get out there and also raise money, that’s part of what we’re trying to do today, is raise money for our foundation so that we can further the work that we’re doing in South Dakota.”
Kurtz said he is excited for the 50th anniversary of the Center for Disabilities conference and celebration.
“It’s gone fantastic. We’re like any organization, our success really depends on our people and our partnerships. This has been a great way to bring people that have previously not been aware of what we do and really becoming part of our organization and getting behind the work that we do. For a first-time event, we have almost 100 people registered for this,” Kurtz said.
