News from LINC

Powering Independence

New Form of Freedom

By Jen Grush-Dale, LINC
   One of my favorite things about working at LINC is getting to know my co-workers. I get to work with some amazing people who don’t allow their disability stop them from finding adventure and living life. A few days ago, I got to talk with my co-worker, Sari Lipp, about an adventure she had earlier in June.
   We talked over Zoom and Sari’s excitement radiated from my screen. She had never tried mountain biking before. And certainly never with an adaptive bicycle. She joined folks gathered at the Fort Boise Military Reserve trails with all sorts of bicycles to try out. After rejecting a few, she chose the Lasher Sport All Terrain Handcycle. By the second day, the experienced riders had her out on the more difficult trails and she was nailing it!
   Then Sari came tumbling down, literally. She misjudged a piece of trail and sent herself flying over a cliff! Fortunately, she wasn’t seriously hurt. Sari’s reaction: “Good. Got the crash over with, now let’s finish the race!”
   I asked her why she didn’t give up. Sari said it’s worth it. “Mountain biking let me enjoy the beauty and tranquility of nature in a way that isn’t otherwise possible.”    Sari found this new freedom thanks to CAF – the Challenged Athletes Foundation Idaho. CAFI is part of a nationwide organization that promotes athletes of all abilities.
   From CAF’s website: “We collaborate with local Idaho partners to fund grants for adaptive sports equipment, training, and competition expenses.”  Through grants to clinics and camps, CAF brings athletes like Sari into a whole new world of recreation and competition.
    I have often wondered about the connection between disability and recreation. Sari pointed out to me that “Sport is community and many disabled individuals get left out of that community!”
   Doing things, especially recreation, in the outdoors is so important to Sari. From her home in the Magic Valley, she pursues as many opportunities as she can find. She has an associates degree as well as certifications in everything from pharmacy to EKG. Today she works at LINC, coordinating our Emergency Food Box program. Plus, new opportunities for her are also in the works.
   Sari has found a way to shine since finding organizations like CAF and LINC. To be around a group of people who understand her challenges and her dreams has Sari feeling amazing, even days later. And to be a part of things that make those same dreams become reality for others. She describes it this way: “I was free. Free to be me, free to let go, free to feel, free to fly in the sunrise of my dreams.”
   Sari and I share this sense of gratitude for the opportunity to pass on to others what we have experienced.

LINC has three offices to serve you. www.lincidaho.org

1182 Eastland Drive North
Suite C
Twin Falls ID 83301
(208) 733-1712 VOICE
(208) 733-7711 TDD

1878 West Overland Road
Boise ID 83705
(208) 336-3335 VOICE
(208) 336-3335 TDD
(208) 384-5037 FAX

703 S. Kimball Ave
Caldwell ID 83605
(208) 454-5511 VOICE
(208) 454-5511 TDD
(208) 454-5515 FAX