As part of the NFL’s Annual ‘My Cause My Cleats’ campaign, Denver Broncos Safety Caden Sterns selected PWSA | USA as one of his charitable causes! My Cause My Cleats celebrates the positive impact that players have made in communities across America and provides players with an opportunity to highlight the cause-related work they are passionate about on the field.
PWSA | USA briefly met with Sterns virtually to thank him and learned there is someone in his life he considers as a younger sister who is living with Prader-Willi syndrome.
“How I became aware of Prader-Willi syndrome was basically through my family friend. She was in a close relationship with somebody I consider a mentor, he’s like a bigger brother, but he has a daughter named Brooklyn with PWS, I also have her name on the cleats, and I treat her like a little sister. She has one of the most beautiful personalities there is and that I know. Meeting them is how I became aware of it. So, when we had the opportunity to do My Cause My Cleats I was like, ‘Oh yeah, I’m definitely going to do this for them,’ just because what the family means to me and with PWS, not many people being very aware of it, and to be able to do as much as I can to bring more awareness to it and do my part. I’m very thankful that it means a lot to you guys. It means a lot to me to be able to use my platform to help,” Sterns told PWSA | USA.
On Sunday, December 5, 2021, during a game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Sterns wore special cleats he designed (pictured below) to represent both of his important causes – PWSA | USA and Circle of Cancer Care, a non-profit organization created to support local community women diagnosed with any type of cancer. Brooklyn cheered him at the game and received the cleat that displays her name after the game.
“It was pretty special for her and her family and obviously for me as well for her to be there and see her name on the cleats. It was a cool moment.”
We are extremely grateful to Caden Sterns for this incredible honor!
Jennifer Bolander has been serving as a Special Education Specialist for PWSA (USA) since October of 2015. She is a graduate of John Carroll University and lives in Ohio with her husband Brad and daughters Kate (17), and Sophia (13) who was born with PWS.
Perry A. Zirkel has written more than 1,500 publications on various aspects of school law, with an emphasis on legal issues in special education. He writes a regular column for NAESP’s Principal magazine and NASP’s Communiqué newsletter, and he did so previously for Phi Delta Kappan and Teaching Exceptional Children.
Evan has worked with the Prader-Willi Syndrome Association (USA) since 2007 primarily as a Crisis Intervention and Family Support Counselor. Evans works with parents and schools to foster strong collaborative relationships and appropriate educational environments for students with PWS.
Dr. Amy McTighe is the PWS Program Manager and Inpatient Teacher at the Center for Prader-Willi Syndrome at the Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh. She graduated from Duquesne University receiving her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Education with a focus on elementary education, special education, and language arts.
Staci Zimmerman works for Prader-Willi Syndrome Association of Colorado as an Individualized Education Program (IEP) consultant. Staci collaborates with the PWS multi-disciplinary clinic at the Children’s Hospital in Denver supporting families and school districts around the United States with their child’s Individual Educational Plan.
Founded in 2001, SDLC is a non-profit legal services organization dedicated to protecting and advancing the legal rights of people with disabilities throughout the South. It partners with the Southern Poverty Law Center, Protection and Advocacy (P&A) programs, Legal Services Corporations (LSC) and disability organizations on major, systemic disability rights issues involving the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the federal Medicaid Act. Recently in November 2014, Jim retired.