Take BVT out to the ballgame!

Nearly 60 residents, day program participants (aka LEAPsters), staff and volunteers from Breckenridge Village of Tyler (BVT) attended a Texas Rangers baseball game on April 6. Through a Rangers-sponsored community outreach program, BVT LEAPsters  and staff watched the Rangers battle the Seattle Mariners.

“LEAPsters,” according to BVT Program Director Steven Campbell, is the nickname given to BVT day program participants, standing for Learning, Experiencing, Achieving, and Providing. The day program helps adults with developmental disabilities learn new skills.

BVT’s trip to the baseball game was made possible through the Texas Rangers’ Commissioner’s Community Initiative & Players Give Back, a Major League Baseball-supported program that helps fans who would otherwise be unable to attend a pro baseball game. This is the second time BVT LEAPsters have attended a Rangers baseball game.

“We are always looking for ways to engage our residents and LEAPsters in special and unique opportunities within the community,” explains Campbell.  “For many of them, the Rangers game was an experience of a lifetime.”

In addition to Rangers baseball this Spring, BVT recently provided its residents and day program participants with field trips to the Caldwell Zoo, the East Texas Gator Farm and Times Square Cinema to see the Wizard of Oz. On April 23, BVT LEAPsters will compete in the Special Olympics Track and Field events in Lufkin, TX.

BVT is a faith-based community for adults with mild to moderate intellectual and developmental disabilities. BVT offers focused residential and day habilitation programs to meet the needs of those individuals whose families have sought BVT for its warm, safe setting, its caring staff and its effective services. BVT works to help empower each resident develop physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally and socially.