#carouselhouse

On Friday, November 8, a special (famous) guest surprised a group from Parks & Rec's Carousel House's Day Program for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities during their visit to FOX 29.

At FOX 29’s studio in Old City, the group enjoyed an in-studio musical performance, toured the newsroom, and joined the studio audience of The Q show.

The Q features host Quincy Harris and friends discussing the latest in pop culture, music, and comedy. The special guest during our group's visit was FOX's Good Day host Alex Holley. Alex posed for photos with group after the show. A fun time was had by all. 

The Friday Day program runs from October to May. The group has 10 to 12 members ranging in age from their late 20s to 50s. Members hail from all over the city, particularly West and North Philly. 

On May 19, Carousel House Recreation Center hosted its 32nd annual Sunny Day Celebration for about 75 guests. Carousel House hosts the event every year for active program participants to say thank you for their year-round support.

This year, the theme was “A Day in the Sun,” which brought some sunshine and joy into a poor weather day. MC Kirk Maurer kicked off the event and joked in his opening remarks, “I know it’s rainy and dreary outside, but it’s warm and dry and sunny in here.”

From 10:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m., five performers entertained the audience, including singers Bruce Copp and Marvin Diamond. Participants jumped up and danced to crowd favorite songs like “Under the Boardwalk” by the Beach Boys and “Proud Mary” by Tina Turner. A caricature artist was also at the event, donating her talent and time to draw guests’ portraits. Carousel House provided lunch, arts and crafts, and a gift to the guests.  

Carousel House Recreation Center, located at Belmont Avenue and Avenue of the Republic in West Fairmount Park, is dedicated to providing socialization and recreational and educational services to persons with disabilities who live in Philadelphia.

The center will host a Pre-Summer Jam dance on Friday, June 8 from 6:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m. The event is for people with disabilities age 16 and older, and costs $5.00 per person.

1,800 pounds (and counting): this is how much food the farm at the Carousel House Recreation Center has produced in one season alone.

That abundance of produce never goes to waste thanks to a partnership with the Broad Street Ministry, an organization that provides meals, health services, a mail room, and more to Philadelphia’s homeless and at-risk population.

The collard greens, kale, broccoli, tomatoes, eggplants, squash, onions, carrots, and other vegetables are the basis of many meals for the Broad Street Ministry, which serves between 250 and 400 meals daily.

The cycle to creating these meals began in the spring with Kim Cook, a farm manager and garden educator, who has worked to plant and maintain the farm all season. With the help of PowerCorps, the food is planted and the farm is refreshed for the season ahead.

As the produce begins to grow, the Broad Street Ministry volunteers offer their services weekly to help maintain the garden, as well as assist in harvesting the food. After the food is harvested, it is weighed, bagged, and transported to the kitchens at Broad Street Ministry, located at 315 Broad Street.

From there, the kitchen staff creates meals based on the Carousel House produce. On this night in particular, a chicken parmesan dish is created with a bed of Carousel House Farm’s vegetables. Cooking the hundreds of meals begins at noon and continues until it’s time for dinner service in the evening.

This isn’t your typical soup kitchen; Broad Street Ministry creates a dining environment where its patrons are served food at their tables, just like you would experience at a restaurant. They want to give their guests a sense of dignity, eating good food in an accepting environment.

Carousel House at its core is a facility for adults with disabilities, but its reach stretches far beyond those who visit the center on a daily basis. This modestly-sized farm impacts the lives of hundreds of individuals who need it the most.

From January 20-22, the 19th annual Katie Kirlin Junior Wheelchair Basketball Tournament took place at Carousel House Recreation Center and The High School of the Future in West Philadelphia. The event brought together six organizations from various areas of the east coast. The organizations in attendance were: Bennett Blazers (Baltimore Maryland), Brooklyn Jersey Jr. Nets (Northern New Jersey and New York City), Fairfax Falcons (Fairfax Virginia), New York Rolling Fury (New York City and Long Island), Sportable Spokes (Richmond Virginia), and of course, Katie’s Komets, whose home base is Carousel House. 

There were two divisions of play during the tournament. The prep division is for younger and/or more inexperienced athletes, while the varsity division serves older and more advanced athletes. All of the teams gave it their all during the tournament, but the Brooklyn Jersey Jr. Nets ended up claiming the varsity division title in a 54 to 43 game against Bennett Blazers, while the Fairfax Falcons also defeated Bennett Blazers 26 to 14 in the prep division. 

Like in years past, this event would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of Philadelphia Parks & Recreation staff. Tournament Director Scott Bowman worked tirelessly for several months with his colleagues at Carousel House to make sure the tournament went off without a hitch, and the event weekend brought out staff from other PPR sites, including the downtown headquarters, to assist with whatever was needed to make the tournament a successful one.

PPR congratulates and thanks all who participated in this tournament!

Philadelphia Parks & Recreation has produced many world-class athletes over the years, and Paralympians are no exception. Amanda McGrory is one of these athletes. She got her start as a wheelchair athlete 20 years ago at Carousel House a recreation center in West Philadelphia, exclusively for people with disabilities, where she competed in wheelchair basketball and wheelchair racing.

(Amanda after her 2016 win in Rio. Photo by Bob Martin.)

At the age of five, Amanda, a native of Kennett Square, PA, contracted a condition called Transverse Myelitis, which left her paralyzed from the waist down and dependent on a wheelchair to get around. Shortly after her diagnosis, Amanda’s parents enrolled her in sports for recreational and social reasons. Prior to enrollment, she had never met a person, let alone someone her age, who used a wheelchair full-time. At Carousel House, she was also able to witness  adults with disabilities who led full and productive lives. Many of the people that Amanda met during her time at there remain friends and mentors. Amanda credits her time at Carousel House for instilling in her a foundation of confidence and independence, qualities that define her athleticism to this day. “It was cool to see something that started out as a recreational thing ultimately become something so much bigger,” she said.

(Amanda competes in her first race in 1996.)

Growing up, Amanda loved both track and basketball equally, and she competed in both sports through her high school years. When it came time to attend college, Amanda chose to attend the University of Illinois on a basketball scholarship, where she was an active member of the women’s wheelchair basketball team for five years. She also continued to train in wheelchair racing, a sport that would drastically change her life and direction as an athlete.

In 2006, at the age of 20, Amanda was bribed by a friend into participating in her first marathon. Previously, she thought of herself as a sprinter and middle-distance runner. However, after completing the 2006 Colfax Marathon in Denver, she was hooked and decided to start training for distance events. For the next three years, Amanda also continued playing basketball; however, she ultimately made the difficult decision to make racing her predominant sport. Since her first marathon ten years ago, Amanda has run nearly 100 marathons, and won approximately 30 of them. In 2009, Amanda became a sponsored athlete. Throughout her career, she has been able to travel the world to compete in marathons.

Amanda competed in her first Paralympic Games in 2008 in Beijing, China—something she had dreamed about since childhood. She won four medals, including a gold in the 5000 Meters. She returned in 2012 for the Paralympic Games in London, England. Unfortunately, Amanda did not have the same success that she did in Beijing, but she still recalls it as a great experience. In September of this year, Amanda competed in her third Paralympic Games in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. She ended up winning three medals, one silver in the 1500 meters and two bronze in the marathon and 5000 meters, bringing her total to seven Paralympic medals so far. When asked for a standout memory from her Paralympic career thus far, Amanda cited the two times that she and her American teammates accomplished a sweep on the podium, taking the gold, silver, and bronze positions in the 1500 meters and the 5K. The Paralympics have also afforded Amanda unique opportunities, such as getting to meet President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and First Lady Michelle Obama.

According to Amanda, being a Paralympian takes a significant amount of dedication and sacrifice, which can sometimes be difficult. Amanda currently trains six days per week, putting in 100-150 miles per week, depending on the time of year. “It’s hard because you have to make a lot of sacrifices and love your sport,” she said. “It can be frustrating to not see results, but you must learn and grow from your mistakes to make you who you are as an athlete.”

Amanda is not certain what the future holds, but she has no plans to stop competing in wheelchair racing anytime soon. She still trains and competes for the University of Illinois, where she is currently a graduate student, studying library and information science. In addition to training, Amanda works as a graduate assistant and teaching assistant. She also occasionally does speaking engagements where she talks about her life as a Paralympic athlete. Amanda hopes to see the adaptive sports world grow significantly in 10-20 years’ time, so that future young athletes can have the same opportunities that she had growing up.

Amanda strongly urges young people with disabilities to get out there and try adaptive sports. “It can be fun to explore different sports, and once you find something you love, sticking with it, “she said.