Of the hundreds of people gathered on the Wasatch High School track on Saturday morning, around 40 wore green and yellow baseball caps reading “Team Gunnar.” They’d come for the 5K fundraiser for the local disability advocacy nonprofit, Parents Empowering Abled Kids, or PEAK. They were the cheerleaders of 9-year-old Gunnar Larson, the biggest Green Bay Packers fanatic in his third grade class at Midway Elementary School — hence the hats. Darcy Larson and her son Gunnar Larson wore Green Bay Packers-inspired Team Gunnar hats. Credit: Christopher Reeves “His goal in life is to go to the Green Bay Packers Lambeau Field and meet Jordan Love. He even signs his name at school, ‘Gunnar Love,’” said his mother, Darcy. Gunnar has a rare chromosomal condition called partial trisomy 19. He’s been participating in PEAK-organized activities for four years. The organization partners with the National Ability Center in Park City to provide access to adaptive sports — like cycling, rock climbing, equestrian and skiing — for local kids at a low cost. “This was Gunnar’s third year skiing, and he flies down that hill, and he was doing blues this year,” Darcy said. “PEAK has been amazing for us because it’s been able to provide opportunities for Gunnar that might not always be available.” PEAK was founded 10 years ago by Ben Springer, who was the director of special education for the Wasatch County School District at the time. He created the parent group to provide opportunities like recreation and scholarships for the district’s disabled students, give parents a voice in special education programming and recognize the work of parents and educators. PEAK Board Vice Chair Erin Sabey said the purpose of the 5K is not only to raise funds for programming through business sponsorships, race registration and a silent auction, but to foster community engagement.  “We want the community to see our kids and recognize that they are part of the community, and we all are better together,” she said.  Credit: Christopher Reeves Credit: Christopher Reeves The kids 100m dash at the Wasatch PEAK 5k. John Emmett ran with his 12-year-old son, Timmy. They would trade off in 20-second intervals — 20 seconds of John pushing Timmy in his wheelchair and 20 seconds of Timmy wheeling himself. When they got to the downhill segments, John “couldn’t keep up.” “It’s (an) all-abilities focus, so there are opportunities to cut the course and do the distance that you can. So last year, we did a little over 3K. Today, we did 4K. Next year, we’re gonna do the full map,” he said. “Right, bud?” “Sure,” Timmy replied. His favorite part of the 5K wasn’t the race — it was the donuts. John said Timmy has made friends through PEAK that he wouldn’t have had otherwise and that it’s given him access to recreation that the family wouldn’t be able to afford on their own.  A monkey-suited contestant at the PEAK 5k. Credit: Christopher Reeves Ryan Bennett, a parent who has been involved with PEAK since it began, said the same about his 14-year-old son, Tanner. Tanner’s favorite PEAK activity has been riding horses — especially getting to say, “Yeehaw,” he explained. Ryan and his wife, Kimberly, have been involved with PEAK since it began. Ryan said he “wasn’t sure how to be a good parent” to Tanner when he first found out his son had Down Syndrome, but that other parents, and later, PEAK, offered advice and connected him with resources that could help. “I have learned so much about empowering these kids,” he said. “(The key is) believing in him, giving him opportunities, not treating him as having disabilities, but treating him as having many gifts and that he can do hard things.” The start of the Wasatch PEAK 5K. Credit: Christopher ReevesThe start of the Wasatch PEAK 5K. Credit: Christopher ReevesKathy Carr with the Wasatch Community Foundation gives James Bedingfield from Viewmont High School a medal for placing first in the Wasatch PEAK 5K. Credit: Christopher Reeves The post 5K fundraiser supports Wasatch County School District’s disabled students appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less