TEWKSBURY — Olivia Jensen and Maggie Kinnon are bringing a new inclusive track program to the town this summer. The Buddy Track program will happen at Tewksbury Memorial High School on five afternoons, and provide specially-abled students from grades pre-K through high school and the LEAP program a chance to have fun and run.
Organized by the DECA club at TMHS, the dates are June 29, July 13, July 20, Aug. 3, and Aug. 10. Each program day will run from 1 – 2 p.m. A registration form is required for participation, and a modest $5 is asked to cover the cost of a program t-shirt. The track program is for Tewksbury residents.
The summer fun program is the brainchild of Kinnon.
“The idea stemmed from me originally, I’ve loved participating in the buddy basketball and baseball program over the past few years, but felt an absence of a summer activity. I shared my idea [with] Olivia, and it really took off from there. We hope for it to be a great way to strengthen the connection between high schoolers, especially DECA members, and the special needs community.”
Over the five Sundays, students will have the chance to learn about track and compete in various events. Participants will be matched with a TMHS student volunteer, and learn a new running or field skill each week. According to Kinnon and Jensen, volunteers will be fully engaged with the athletes to aid in the learning and performing process.
Athletes will have an initial performance review and will have their progress measured each week.
Jensen is excited for the program.
“When Maggie came up with the idea of the summer Buddy Track program, I was super excited. We quickly got to planning schedules, and decided to do one running event and one field event each day,” said Jensen.
The duo is hoping that student who might not have tried track and field events previously will give it a try.
Both Kinnon and Jensen are part of the Best Buddies program at TMHS and work to support specially-abled athletes. The pair were recently part of the TMHS team showing at the Merrimack Valley Conference Unified Track event, an affiliate of the Special Olympics.
Kinnon and Jensen said that all student participants will be provided with medals on the final day of the program, along with a performance and progress evaluation. Volunteers will be TMHS students from Best Buddies, DECA, and the track team.
Best Buddies is an organization dedicated to establishing a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities or one to one friendships, integrated employment and leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
DECA is a business marketing program for students to compete in real world business scenario competitions locally and nationally. Both programs emphasize community participation and leadership, and over the years have conducted many outreach activities in town.
Students can attend just those weeks that fit their family schedule. The $5 fee will be collected at the first session attended to help defray costs.
Interested families should sign up at https://forms.gle/E1iVhnbuTaVyV17p6
For questions regarding the Buddy Track Program, email: kinnonm27@tewksbury.k12.ma.us and jenseno28@tewksbury.k12.ma.us.