Lake County Gazette

GLASA (Great Lakes Adaptive Sports Association) is an all-inclusive, proactive, nonprofit organization that strives to get every level of athlete involved.

Its program motto is "Let No One Sit on the Sidelines," as it strives to promote fitness and well-being among those with disabilities. In addition to keeping these disabled athletes' muscles active and their energy flowing, GLASA also teaches leadership and education to its clientele. 

GLASA was formed in 1999 by Executive Director Cindy Housner. At that time, there weren't many organizations that promoted health and physical activity for the disabled. When the company was born, less than a dozen participants reaped the benefits of this visionary idea. Currently, GLASA aids more than 600 people in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin, in addition to more than 3,000 others through outreach programs. It also places a ton of importance on education and hosts clinics in these regions regularly. 

GLASA also prides itself on the wide range of athletes it coaches.

"GLASA provides a continuum of recreational- to elite-level sports programming, serving the first-time athlete to the athlete looking to make Team USA for the Paralympic Games in Rio," Housner said.

While most programs of this sort tend to aim toward a specific demographic, GLASA has no requirements in experience level. 

It has become a communitywide outreach program that's growing by the day. Whether it be an adult or a child, GLASA is proud to mentor all who ask for it.

"GLASA has so many touches in the community, whether it be the athletes and families we serve, the over 400 volunteers who support our programming, the sponsors and supporters who help accomplish our motto of 'Let No One Sit on the Sidelines' or the hundreds of individuals who we work with, whether it be the schools, medical facilities, governmental agencies, park and recreation agencies, sports agencies, and the list just grows." Housner said. 

Some of the many awards and other honors GLASA has achieved thus far have come from U.S. Paralympics, Women’s Sports Foundation and Great Nonprofits, among others.

"We were named a Gold Level Paralympic Sports Club in 2015, and hosted the 2016 Adult National Open and Great Lakes Regional Games, an International Paralympic Committee-approved event that had over 200 athletes representing 25 different states, and five countries with 46 of the track-and-field athletes competing at the U.S. Paralympic Team Trials," Housner said.

The group offers training in 25 different sports, at 60 different locations around northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. It has seen a 50 percent growth in clientele over the last three years and offers 250 days of programming per year.

GLASA trained several athletes who will compete at the Paralympic Games in Rio, which run from Sept. 7-18, when 40 men and 26 women from GLASA will compete in track-and-field events, and 21 women and 10 men will be on the Paralympic Swimming Team.