“They were worn, torn, faded and mismatched,” said Monroy. “Many times, the five players on the court didn’t even have the same uniform on. It was sad.”

Knowing that something had to be done, Monroy and fellow coach Rich Dennison outlined a fundraising program to the local Special Olympics board to raise the necessary funds to buy new uniforms and warmups in time for the 2023-24 season.

It was an ambitious project, but Monroy and Dennison received the full approval of their board to go ahead with the project.

As he had the year before, when they needed to replace 12-year-old track and softball uniforms, John Bertschy stepped in to assist in the fundraising. Bertschy, who coaches softball and track with Dennison and Monroy, again enlisted the aid of Wes Crothers. Crothers is currently the American Legion County and District Commander and is past commander of Post #131 in Leetonia. He is well-connected with the fraternal and veterans organizations in the county.

Coach Ivan Monroy displays the warm up tops that the Columbiana County Comets Special Olympics basketball team was able to purchase this season due to the donations of local organizations. (Submitted photo)

“We initially sent letters to the various groups in the county,” said Bertschy. “Then, Wes and I started making phone calls. Wes went around and made in-person visits to the clubs and organizations. The response was overwhelming.”

The Salem American Legion, Salem Amvets, Leetonia American Legion, and Wellsville’s Masonic Lodge agreed to contribute.

“The Salineville Legion was exceedingly generous and enabled us to actually surpass our goal,” Bertschy said. “Lisa McLaughlin, who coordinates the Special Olympics in our county, directed a fantastic candle sale, which our athletes and their families really got behind.”

Monroy also praised McLaughlin’s work, saying, “I don’t know what we would do without Lisa. She is tireless in her efforts on behalf of the Special Olympics.”

Monroy noted that an initial donation by Ventra Salem LLC enabled the team to place the order for their uniforms so that they could receive them in time for the 2023- 24 season.

“We were concerned about not being able to get the uniforms in time for the season, but Ventra Salem LLC really helped us out,” Monroy stated. ‘Since we weren’t really sure as to how much money we would raise, we limited our order to just jerseys, warmup tops and shirts for the coaches. One of our goals for next season is to get approval to ask for donations to get matching shorts.”

“The players really liked the purple and gold colors, as well as the texture of the jerseys and warmups,” Monroy said. “I’m very happy that we were able to do this for our players. I’m proud of how we worked to raise the funds. It is really gratifying to see how many people and local organizations stepped up to help some very special athletes. Special Olympics provides opportunities for athletes with developmental disabilities to have fun and play the sports they enjoy, while doing the best they can.”