Honoring CJ Seitz
“From the moment he was born, CJ was a kind soul,” said Frank Seitz, CJ’s father. CJ was born with the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck, but no evidence of brain damage at the time of his birth. “We thought we had a perfectly normal child,” said Frank. When he was 4 months old, […]
Letting Brayden Fail, With Love
Twenty-six-year-old Brayden is the biggest KU basketball fan you’ll ever meet. He is very sport-oriented, enjoys golfing with his dad and uncle and has played tournaments with them. This summer, Brayden and his mom, DeAnne attended Rainbows’ 50th Birthday celebration at the Wind Surge baseball game. Brayden has been part of the Rainbows’ family since […]
Fashion, Talent and Arts Shows, and Field Trips, Too
Camp Woodchuck’s 50th Birthday-themed summer camp wrapped up a successful summer serving 36 youth, ages 6-21 years old, in an In-Home camp experience. This summer, Rainbows’ Direct Support Professionals provided children each week with a variety of hands-on structured activities and took them out into the community for field trips and special activities. The youth […]
Support Through Challenges Brings Confidence
Cheyenne Hancock, Direct Support Professional, joined the Rainbows’ team in June of 2020 at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. “It was all very new and nerve-racking to me,” said Cheyenne. “Everyone was having a hard time adjusting to the change, especially the kids, but during that first summer I got a lot of compliments […]
Building Meaningful Relationships
In May 2022, Ashley Burris graduated with her Master of Arts in teaching degree from Kansas State University. She also holds an undergraduate degree from Sterling College in Business Ministry (2019). Ashley joined Rainbows in June as a Camp Woodchuck direct support professional. “I truly just love the work Rainbows does and was excited to […]
Meet Carrie, a social butterfly
Carrie and her twin-sister Abigail were born at 29 weeks and due to their rough delivery, both had Grade II Bi-Lateral bleeds. Abigail’s corrected itself, but Carrie’s graduated to a Grade IV and caused her to develop Hydrocephalus which led to a diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy. A very happy, almost 16-year-old teenager, Carrie (who has […]
Campers Celebrate All Summer Long
Camp Woodchuck’s theme for summer of 2022 is a birthday party theme in celebration of Rainbow’s 50th Birthday! Camp Woodchuck began providing a fun, summer experience for children with special needs in 1997. This summer, 38 campers ranging in age from 6 to 18 years old will be treated to an in-home camp experience like […]
DiGiovanni Family Celebrates
“The path, the journey we’ve been on, it all started at one place -Rainbows.” As a 10-year-old volunteering with her mother at Blarney Breakfast, Gretchen DiGiovanni had no idea the impact Rainbows United would someday have on her family. Gretchen’s parents, Dick and Carol Rohloff, are long-time supporters of Rainbows. Gretchen continued to be a […]
Laura and Leo tell their story
It was 1988 and after 2 weeks in the NICU, Laura was sent home with her parents, Jane and Randy who were completely unprepared on how to help their daughter. Laura was born with cerebral palsy and visual impairment. When Laura was 5 months old, a friend told them they needed to call Rainbows. The […]
A story of transformation
Congratulations to Rainbows’ youth, Stormy Endevoets. Stormy was awarded the 2021 Outstanding Youth Award at this year’s InterHab Art and Awards event. Stormy was awarded winning artwork by Tyler Moore, also served through Rainbows. Stormy is pictured with her award – hanging wind chime artwork by Tyler; Amber Rosenthal, Direct Support Professional; Tiffany Graf, Family […]
