Those with disabilities, major illnesses can still enjoy recreation activities

By Melissa Voss

People with disabilities and those fighting major illnesses have allies in Colorado who work to bring the outdoors to everyone. Following are three examples of groups that work to provide incredible Colorado experiences to all people.

Photo by Pete Larson / Ready Fire Digital

National Sports Center for the Disabled

Colorado is the land of opportunity when it comes to the outdoors – rafting, skiing, climbing, horseback riding, tubing, hiking, fishing, hunting. At the National Sports Center for the Disabled (NSCD), they believe everyone should have the access and ability to enjoy the great outdoors. Through the help of their staff and volunteers, the NSCD has brought that opportunity to disabled people across the nation for more than 55 years.

In 1970, Hal O’Leary started his journey to make a ski program for disabled individuals in Winter Park. With his dedication to teaching, O’Leary volunteered as the first and only instructor when the Winter Park Ski School had 23 individuals from the Children’s Hospital Colorado come out for a day of play. Ever since then, O’Leary’s vision – seeing the “able” in everyone – gradually built the National Sports Center for the Disabled into what it is today.

Julie Taulman, president and CEO of NSCD, has more than 30 years of experience in the accessibility field. Her beginnings with local non-profits supporting disabled individuals stems from her own personal experience. When Taulman’s son was only two years old, he was diagnosed with cancer that affected his spine. By the age of three, he became paraplegic. Taulman wanted to keep up the family tradition of going outdoors and enjoying time, without her son feeling restricted.

“I really didn’t know anything about the adaptive world until I was in it,” Taulman says. “Right after my son became paraplegic … I just kept thinking ‘how can we go on, how can we continue to do the things we love as a family?’ When he was three, we were able to get him on the slopes and he was in a sit ski. And it made us realize there is life after disability.”

The NSCD provides a wide range of experiences that are modified to embrace any disability. The non-profit offers both recreational and competitive events for participants. In 2023, the group included 1,721 people in a recreational or competitive events; 41 percent were first-time participants. Programs range from water sports and horseback riding to shooting sports, skiing and many more.

“I just remember sitting at the base of Winter Park, the snow littered with wheelchairs with no one in them and thought that they were all having fun, doing the things that they thought they never could do,” Taulman says.

Both the NSCD staff and volunteers are trained at the highest level, and Taulman shares that 500 volunteers donate the equivalent of around $700,000 in labor toward several NSCD programs annually.

NSCD grew a lot in 2024, both in programs and in office accessibility. They launched their adaptive mountain bike program to provide summertime fun. They partnered with Jefferson County Open Space to open the Front Range Program Center, a designated space for NSCD to host events for participants and local schools, and house their Front Range adaptive equipment and vehicles.

Taulman says that discussions are underway to build a state-of-the-art program facility in Winter Park, as well as overnight lodging for participants so they can enjoy the full experience.

Those interested in participating, volunteering, or donating to NSCD should visit nscd.org.

Shining Stars Foundation

The season of giving doesn’t stop around the holidays. In fact, organizations such as the Shining Stars Foundation work to give a sense of hope throughout the year to children battling and surviving pediatric cancer.

Established in 2001, the foundation works to support the families of those fighting cancer and other life-threatening illnesses across the country. Shining Stars offers more than 50 outdoor, social, and recreational experiences, including adaptive skiing, hiking, snowmobiling, rafting, biking, cooking, swimming, climbing and sailing.

After launching in Aspen, the services have also been offered in Winter Park and Denver.

By providing year-round recreational programming with the help of local volunteers, Shining Stars is the only Colorado non-profit to provide continuous care for children and their families throughout their illnesses.

Rosemary White, director of operations, emphasises that cancer is not just a battle for the child, but for the whole family.

“Some people do not realize the sacrifices that families make when a child has cancer,” White says. “Maybe dad has to quit his job to take them to appointments, or mom stays at home to give 24-hour at-home care. We don’t see that side much. The parents do a lot of behind-the-scenes work. The whole family battles the disease.”

Up to 80 new families are welcomed to the organization every year.

Numerous Shining Stars programs, such as the Aspen Winter Games and the Grand County Family Adventure, are created for patients and families with varying needs. Trained medical teams are able to aid patients with highly complex physical and medical challenges. The additional assistance gives all patients a chance to have a sense of normalcy. Evan, a child diagnosed with multiple blood disorders, shares that he has been able to do what he was told was impossible.

“I had been told I was hopeless. I was dying, in a wheelchair, and on oxygen. Shining Stars gave me hope. I went skiing – something I never dreamed was possible. Now my life has changed. I want to live all day, every day,” he says.

Parents also build a community among one another by interacting and finding others to lean on for support.

“It is a club no one wants to be a part of, but to have that support is life changing for these parents. Finding someone who understands these struggles about health care … getting these families together in a vacation environment has been huge, ” White states.

The events and programs are made possible by in-kind donations, Shining Star’s four staff members, and a bevy of volunteers. Over 400 volunteers help out on an annual basis.

“We are always welcoming volunteers to help us navigate the different programs we run year-round. These people feel like my family now,” White says.

In 2025, Shining Stars is continuing to grow their range of programming for young adults.

Photo courtesy of the Adaptive Sports Center

“Getting these children out of their circumstances, even for a day, through recreation and community has been enlightening,” White says.

To volunteer or learn more, email office@shiningstarsfoundation.org, or visit shiningstarsfoundation.org.

Adaptive Sports Center

Many people escape to the Colorado mountains to connect with nature and enjoy the numerous activities. But the Adaptive Sports Center of Crested Butte works to take that one step further – to give anyone the opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors.

The Adaptive Sports Center (ASC) was started in 1987 by a passionate group of Crested Butte locals; it was first known as the Crested Butte Physically Challenged Ski Program. After one year and 30 participants, the non-profit received a donation from President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalynn Carter. With the donation, ASC was able to expand their vision to aid others not only in Colorado, but the United States and beyond.

“Our beginnings started with individuals with disabilities and special circumstances coming out to Crested Butte for lessons and vacations, and the ski school didn’t have the capacity to serve these people,” says Jessica Taylor, marketing manager at the Adaptive Sports Center. “The ski program evolved over time and started to include numerous summer sports like mountain biking, hiking, climbing, stand-up/sit-down paddle boarding and kayaking, just to name a few.”

Taylor points out that Crested Butte and Gunnison County have combined efforts to give participants access to several outdoor activities, no matter the time of year.

“I have not been here terribly long, but I’ve been able to see both the summer and winter programs,” she shared. “You’re able to see people push themselves and try new things, especially if they were once able-bodied and then recently became disabled.”

To participate in an adapted sport, funds are needed for not only lodging but adaptive equipment rental, instructor fees, travel and more. ASC’s mission is to make it an affordable option for individuals, as well as their entire families.

With the help of donors and volunteers, ASC is able to create a daily experience that is more affordable. Instead of paying nearly $900, costs have been reduced to about $95.

ASC also realizes that everyone’s financial situation is different. That’s why it provides scholarship opportunities that allow families to pay what they can so they can enjoy an outdoor experience.

“To give the option of a scholarship, in any degree, has transformed the experience by alleviating the weight off of their shoulders,” she says.

Visit adaptivesports.org for more information.