WESTLAKE, Ohio — Avon resident Breanna Sprenger is 19 years old and was born without legs, a right arm and her left hand has three fingers.

What You Need To Know

  • At Youth Challenge young people with physical disabilities and teen volunteers inspire each other every day through adaptive sports, recreation and social growth activities

  • The nonprofit works to enrich the lives and well-being of young people of all abilities

  • They offer year-round programming 

  • No family is ever charged a fee for Youth Challenge services

“I have caudal regression syndrome, which means that I don't have the lumbar lower portion of my spine. And then I have spina bifida,” said Sprenger, an alumni participant at Youth Challenge and a student board intern for YC’s YELP (Youth Empowerment & Leadership Project).

She used to be bullied in school and at the time decided she wanted to get more involved with the disabled community to find more people who could relate to her. She gave Youth Challenge a try and has never looked back. She’s now out to prove her physical limitations can’t stop her. 

“People with disabilities can live normal lives. They can get married, have jobs, play sports, be in a musical. They can do anything they want to with the right assistance and support,” Spenger said.

Alongside Youth Challenge teen volunteer and friend Lucy Douglas, she’s able to participate in games and knockdown cones just like anyone else. 

“I don't feel like, 'Oh, I'm volunteering.' I feel like, 'Oh, I'm going to hang out with my friends at YC. It's kind of like a family,'” Douglas said. “In our society, so many people think, 'Oh, they're in a wheelchair, they can't do this, but they might be better at doing that than someone who isn't in a wheelchair.'”

“The teen volunteers are awesome. So it's awesome because the teen volunteers, they offer experiences, friendship, and then along with other participants, they offer friendship too. But the participants can offer a sense of understanding what it's like to have a disability. And we all have common interests, such as sports,” said Sprenger. 

Sprenger and Douglas have been coming to Youth Challenge for many years.

Sprenger has been coming for about nine years and Douglas first learned about the nonprofit because her mother used to volunteer at Youth Challenge.

Douglas started volunteering when she turned 12 and was old enough. The nonprofit serves over 150 kids from six counties and offers hundreds of year-round programs including adaptive sports, recreation, the arts and more. 

“Our programming is very broad. So we have arts, we have sports, we have social activities, anything under the sun, we do it,” said Mackenzie Vecchio, director of program services at Youth Challenge. “I think that's what makes us very unique. And what it also does is we pair our participants with disabilities with teen volunteers. So that is at the core of our mission as well. Just that partnership, that bond, that friendship, that we create between the participants and teen volunteers.”

“They offer all kinds of sports. I've done archery, sitting volleyball, swimming, boccia and other sports,” Sprenger said. 

Youth Challenge aims to give everyone a place to be themselves and embrace their differences.

“It allows me to see that I'm not alone. And it allows me to interact with others who understand some things that I go through with having a disability. And it was really important to me cause not a lot of people understand and Youth Challenge allows me to just fully be myself,” Sprenger said. 

"Someone may walk a little different. Someone may talk a little different, someone may think differently, but those are the things that we really have to embrace because our differences really are what builds a community and makes us more inclusive,” Vecchio said. ​

At Youth Challenge, young people have no fear of judgment, no fear of bullying. They can show the world what they can do and embrace what life should be about — having fun.

“I love Youth Challenge. It's like a home. I know a lot of people here and we get to do really fun sports,” said Sprenger. “It's the best part of my day.”

Youth Challenge is hosting their Annual Benefit & Auction, YC Rocks! Volume 2 at 8 p.m. on Saturday, May 15. The program is virtual this year with options to experience the event at home. To learn more about Youth Challenge, click here to visit their website.