Our top five inspiring stories from April, as measured by pageviews, certainly don’t disappoint. From a couple of runners taking on the Boston Marathon to a baseball player with autism signing with the Kansas City Royals organization, here’s Purpose2Play’s best from the month:
5. Michelle Kinder: The Former Missionary Kid Driving the AT&T Byron Nelson’s Purpose
If you’ve ever heard Michelle Kinder speak, you’ll not soon forget it. She’s the executive director of Momentous Institute, the AT&T Byron Nelson’s tournament beneficiary—an organization that provides educational and therapeutic services that build and repair social emotional health.
Give Kinder five minutes, and she’ll chronicle how Momentous is “changing the odds” for children and families. Whether she’s telling the story in English or Spanish, she’ll do it with such conviction that it is obvious that Momentous is much more than just a job to her.
4. 70-year-old Swiss cliff diver Peter Roseney still leaps from 88 feet
At 70 years old, Peter Roseney isn’t slowing down. He’s speeding up. Need proof? How about the fact that the Swiss diver can still pull off two-and-a-half rotations from 88 feet and hit the water at speeds of 45+ MPH?
We don’t know much about Roseney, but it’s safe to say he was a competitive diver early on in life, and appears to enjoy the thrill so much that while most people his age are playing golf or tennis, he’s climbing to heights that would make your stomach turn.
3. Tarik El-Abour becomes first minor-league baseball player with autism
Tarik El-Abour making history with the Royals. Photo: Fox4KC
Tarik El-Abour couldn’t speak until he was 6 years old. Instead, he let his baseball bat do the talking for him. Now 25, he’s made history by becoming the first person with autism to sign a professional contract with a minor-league team.
El-Abour, an outfielder who was raised in San Marino, California, was signed by the Kansas City Royals organization on Friday to play in an extended spring training in Surprise, Arizona that helps develop up-and-coming players.
2. Cowboy hat-wearing hero at 2013 Boston Marathon set to run in ’18
Carlos Arredondo, 57, became a recognizable face for his heroism immediately after the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings that claimed three lives and injured hundreds more. He was the man in the white cowboy hat who pulled victims to safety and wrapped mangled limbs near the finish line on Boylston Street. Five years later, he is running the race for the first time and raising money for charity.
1. Talented twins with autism are set to return to the Boston Marathon
At this point in their lives, it’s fair to say Alex and Jamie Schneider tell the world their story with their legs rather than their voices.
The 27-year-old identical twins from Great Neck, N.Y. have a form of autism so severe that they’re completely non-verbal and require 24-hour-a-day care. However, in running shoes and out on the roads, they’re making a statement larger than any words can convey.
