With the new presidential administration promising cuts to Medicaid and scaling back federal involvement in education policy and funding, there may be unpredictable but widespread effects for students with disabilities and their families. That’s why organizations like So Kids SOAR, which provide life-changing opportunities to youth with physical and developmental disabilities, have become even more vital.
A Cycle of Empowerment
So Kids SOAR, initially founded as a set of adaptive sports clinics offering ice hockey, waterskiing, and other activities to youth with disabilities, has evolved over the past fifteen years into something much greater: a three-stage suite of youth empowerment programming.
First Stage
The first stage involves participation in social engagement through the adaptive clinics. Many of these are sports clinics, but there are other activities offered as well, such as So Kids SOAR’s in-person and virtual adaptive cooking clinic, which is taught by a past participant.
“When you give a child the exquisite feeling of accomplishing something athletic from scoring a goal to completing a pass,” says Glenda Fu Smith, the Executive Director for So Kids SOAR, “it ignites a fire within that child’s soul that propels them to embrace new challenges and learn new skills. With repeated positive childhood experiences, the child’s confidence and belief in their capabilities only grows. We serve as a conduit for this confidence building.”
Second Stage
The second stage of that conduit is So Kids SOAR’s Holiday Program, which involves participants in community service, helping them learn so they can have an impact on their community.
Third Stage
Third, the organization’s vocational building program, Your Path to Success, focuses on confidence building and career development, helping youth attain gainful employment. Over the past two years, So Kids SOAR has also hired some of its past participants — graduates of Your Path to Success — as part-time and full-time staff.
“We hired a 2022 graduate as our first full-time Programs Analyst,” Glenda explains. “In 2025, our graduate Michael will be launching the first ever So Kids SOAR podcast, which will welcome local sports heroes and partners as interview guests. The podcast will also shine light on the obstacles parents face when navigating the disability space; and allow our graduate Michael to use his voice to promote change.”
Glenda calls this a “cycle of empowerment,” and it’s the whole point of So Kids SOAR.
The Vision for So Kids SOAR
Glenda Fu Smith took the helm as Executive Director of So Kids SOAR in September 2011, bringing with her a passion for helping women and children achieve. Involved in charitable work ever since joining Women for Women International as an unpaid intern in the fall of 2008, Glenda hosted her first fundraiser that year (raising $200), and in 2009, she traveled to Ecuador, where she helped build a school for underprivileged children. For months preceding her trip, she raised funds and collected clothing and calculators to take with her. In 2011, she was nominated as a Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) Woman of the Year candidate and raised $40,000.
Leading So Kids SOAR, Glenda and her team have developed corporate partnerships, worked with hundreds of volunteers, and empowered hundreds of youth with disabilities. There are approximately 2,600 volunteers in the So Kids SOAR database, and the organization works to maintain a 1:1 volunteer-to-participant ratio each year so that each youth participant has a volunteer partner throughout the experience.
Lending a Helping Hand to the Community
While Glenda encourages the youth at So Kids SOAR to become involved in their community, she remains involved herself. Over the years, through her freelance PR and event work, she has raised over $100,000 for other local and international charities, including Saprinu Academy in Nepal, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Hope Community Charter School, Brainy Camps, Urban Light, and many others. A mother of two, Glenda is now focused on expanding So Kids SOAR to other cities.
Spencer Hulse is the Editorial Director at Grit Daily. He is responsible for overseeing other editors and writers, day-to-day operations, and covering breaking news.
