Shake a lag miami

Maria Sanchez
Jou3300
Feature Story
Shake-A-Leg Miami Helps Kids Overcome Disabilities
Shake-A-Leg Miami, Inc; transforms Biscayne Bay into a recreational and educational playground using watersports as tools for empowerment and independence. Limitations and barriers disappear at Shake-A-Leg Miami, as disable kids from all backgrounds, with different challenges and obstacles learn and havefun at the same time.
Shake-A-Leg was created in 1990 by Harry Horgan, who once suffered a severe spinal cord injury and decided not only to help himself maximize his independence, but also dreamedof one day being able to teach others, specially kids with disabilities.
According to Mr.Horgan, many parents never even imagined seeing their quadriplegic kid on a boat sailing solo, but after 2-3days of attending Shake-A-Leg, parents get completely amazed by seeing their kid’s accomplishments and improvements. “Some parents even cry,” said Mr. Horgan.
“To witness a child who has neverbeen in a boat before, become an active participant of the crew, is a beautiful sight. For over 21 years, I have seen this countless of times and it’s still a thrill,” said Mr.Horgan.
Shake-A-LegMiami, is a non-profit organization that is financially stabled thanks to generous donations from individuals and corporations like Publix, Royal Caribbean and American Airlines. Also, volunteers arecontinuously giving a hand to the organization.
Claudia Guzman, a volunteer at Shake-A-Leg says is a pleasure to be part of the organization for the past 5 years. “All these kids have changed my lifetremendously, I love seeing their progress and listening them laugh,” said Mrs. Guzman.
At Shake-A-Leg Miami, they don’t believe in barriers, they believe in the ability of water to heal. Theirmission is to make learning fun and innovative.
The Coconut Grove based organization offers summer camps, afterschool programs, sailing lessons, kayaking, canoeing, moonlight sails as well as...