CHRISTINA SULLIVAN FOUNDATION

It’s about all the smiles…

The Christina Sullivan Foundation is a 501C3 Public Charity. The Foundation’s Unified Adaptive Sports programs are offered to our challenged athletes and are entirely philanthropic. Your donations supports the mission and keeps her smile alive on all the children, adults, and their families. Please consider any amount and share our mission with friends and family. Thank you for your act of kindness together we can keep the smiles of Hope and Inclusion going!

Sports Center & Research Institute

OUR VISION
“The Center will be woven into the fabric of the community, offering opportunities for all athletes to participate in sports without limitation or barriers.”

Youtube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHs_x-HJAHA

~ Josephine Sullivan, CEO
The Sports Center & Research Institute’s future location is in League City, Texas. This campus will become a World Class Destination where athletes, students, educators, researchers, and Paralympians will gather together from around the world. It’s all about Inclusion!

“At the inception of this campus, the foundation envisioned a Sports Center and Research Institute,” says Josephine Sullivan, Founder, and CEO of the Christina Sullivan Foundation.

Josephine Sullivan, a visionary, along with her team, heads the planning efforts for this innovative campus, offering a dedicated space that supports a variety of activities to a variety of people—a center of inclusiveness for all. Welcoming athletes’ students, families, researchers, and academia; representing all levels regardless of age or ability with or without intellectual or physical challenges to provide inclusion in Sports, Education, Research, and Life.

Programs:
Resources:
The Christina Sullivan Foundation a “Network of Guardians for Hope and Inclusion “is dedicated to helping medically dependent children and adults with intellectual and physical challenges and their families. Our intake specialists will guide in locating the necessary resources involving medical, educational, legal, and social networks to assist in caring for their loved one’s health, safety, and well-being.

Workplace Oppurtunities:

The Christina Sullivan Foundation strongly feels that creating an inclusive environment where people with different abilities are provided opportunities in the workplace by welcoming and adapting to their ability. The Foundation has taken steps to raise awareness and help develop the skills necessary to learn and grow as the employer for those with differing abilities to succeed at his or her position.

Opportunities are available in the foundation office, assisting students in adaptive and unified sports programs offered by the Foundation’s Recreational Therapeutic Adaptive and Inclusive Sports and Fitness Programs throughout the year.

The Foundation’s Future Sports Center & Research Institute, when completed, is to employ 50 % of the Center’s workforce with people of differing abilities.

Please contact us for more information on position availability.

Email: info@christinasullivanfoundation.org

Volunteers make an impact every day. They are essential in providing a rich and enjoyable experience for all our athletes. If you are looking for an extremely rewarding long-term service opportunity, both volunteering and office assistance we hope you will join our team!

Volunteers
Volunteers support our staff and mission providing assist to our athletes one on one encouraging the athletes all while instilling self-confidence, relieving stress, and strengthening social bonds through practice and competition, bringing together both community and family through social activity.

The Christina Sullivan Foundation is the Sponsor for Unified Champion Schools for Galveston Independent School District and Special Olympics Texas to promote inclusion and acceptance through Unified Sports, Inclusive Youth Leadership, and Whole School Engagement. The program is part of the school social settings where students with disabilities feel welcome and included in all aspects of school involvement, building relationships, instilling confidence, bringing together students to Learn, Work, Play and Live Unified.

Provider Unified Champion School and Net Generations, (USTA) Adaptive and Unified Tennis
The United States Tennis Association (USTA) Net Generations, in partnership with the Christina Sullivan Foundation, allows students to learn and utilizes a unique system of different density and color of tennis balls for a happy and successful tennis player!

Adaptive and Inclusive Sports

Adaptive and Inclusive Sports for all ages and abilities:
Basketball, Equestrian, Soccer, Tennis, Badminton, Aquatics, Bocce, Flag Football, Golf, Sailing, Softball, Wheelchair Tennis, Bowling, Powerlifting, Table Tennis, Volleyball, Sitting Volleyball, Wheelchair Fencing, Goalball

Adaptive or Para sports include athletes with a variety of disabilities and challenges. Adaptive sports are competitive or recreational sports for people with disabilities. Adaptive sports often run parallel to typical sports activities. However, they allow modifications necessary for people with disabilities to participate. Many adaptive sports use a classification system that puts athletes with physical challenges on an even playing field with each other.

Abled-bodied Athletes are referred to as the partner of people with physical or intellectual disabilities. Together they play as a Unified Team promoting inclusion in sports and life. Learning a new sport develops higher-level sports skills and has new competition experiences. All athletes experience meaningful inclusion as each athlete ensures a place on the team by socializing with peers’ friendships are formed for happy and positive social interaction between teammates.

Internships and Capstone Doctoral Opportunities

Internship Opportunity

Thank you for your interest in the Internship Program for the Christina Sullivan Foundation. We are proud to offer students the unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience in Recreational Therapeutic Adaptive and Inclusive Sports/Fitness Programs.

The mission of education is an integral part of the experience. Internships provide an outstanding opportunity for students to learn and grow.

Capstone Doctoral Opportunity

“Josephine Sullivan is the founder and CEO of the Christina Grillo Sullivan Foundation and is a dedicated and inspirational member of the Greater Houston/Galveston community.” ~ Amber B. Armstead, DrPH, OTR, BCPR
Assistant Professor & Academic Capstone Experiential Coordinator (ACEC)

A dissertation involves a quest for new knowledge that is intended to solve a real-world problem and be relevant to the field. A doctoral capstone is intended to extend or apply research to deliver a solution immediately to an issue within a real-world setting.

SUMMER CAMPS PROVIDE ALL THE POSSABILITIES!
Physically playing a sport adapted to one’s abilities helps to improve balance, mobility, agility, strength, and fitness. Mentally working on the individual’s focus, concentration, and reactive and problem-solving behaviors. Emotionally it can promote self-confidence, instill feelings of success, relieve stress, and provide social outlets, such as meeting new friends, enhancing relationships, or providing fun family outings.
CAMP POSSABILITIES
A unified tennis program designed for athletes with autism, down syndrome, and the intellectually challenged to play with an Able-bodied partner (someone without a disability), a family member, or a friend. Let’s have some FUN!

SOUNDS OF TENNIS
Blind and Visually Impaired athletes can still play tennis. The game’s main difference is a larger-sized tennis ball, which jingles to allow players to track and the number of bounces allowed. United States Tennis Association video link https://youtu.be/GEqryHTTyeY Let’s have some FUN!

Summer Camps and Programs
TEXAS ACE SUMMER TENNIS CAMP
For ages 6-10 for typically developing students. The equipment: Smaller courts, smaller-sized racquets starting from 17’’ (compared to 27’’ full-size racquets) and low-pressure balls (Red, Orange, Green) allow kids to start playing tennis at a much younger age. This lets them enjoy the sport and have fun without the frustrations of having trouble handling full-size racquets and the high and heavy bounce of regular tennis balls. Let’s have some FUN!

BEEP BASEBALL SUMMER CAMP Beep baseball is a challenging, physically demanding, and enjoyable competitive sport for athletes who are blind or visually impaired. Whether in the batter’s box or in the field, athletes use a combination of strength, skill, and auditory senses to focus on the beeping ball and buzzing bases. “Beep baseball allows me to partake in a sport that since I was a young boy, I have always deemed hopeless due to my lack of vision. It allows me to have an outlet, even as an adult, for my competitive nature!”