“I don’t know what I would have done without the Y.”

Travis Nock was buying ice cream when a stranger asked if he played Wheelchair Basketball. He thought the man was joking. Travis contracted Polio when he was an infant and began using a wheelchair as a child. “You should play,” the stranger urged. Though Travis wanted to be active, opportunities were scarce for someone with mobility challenges.

Motivated by the man’s question and burdened by weight gain over the years (the ice cream!), Travis did some research and found the Sussex Family YMCA. The Y was one of few facilities with adaptive cardio and strength equipment that could help him get his upper body into physical shape to play ball. The 35-minute drive to Rehoboth was a surmountable obstacle, given the benefits, but Travis couldn’t afford a membership. He talked to staff members who helped him secure an Open Doors Scholarship. Now Travis drives to the Y several times a week and he gets in shape to participate in basketball tournaments.  “It’s so beneficial… a blessing that the Y was able to fulfill what I needed.”