Help CAPES! Make a Difference for More Children With Disabilities

CAPES! pairs children with disabilities, ages 5–12, with WSU students who are enrolled in teacher education courses. The students create a unique learning environment, where the relationship is more like a friendship than a student-teacher dynamic. Each fall and spring semester, participating children experience a variety of settings (classrooms, gym, library, swimming pool, climbing wall, and more) and activities designed to help each child improve their independence. By focusing on physical, cognitive, social, behavioral, and emotional skills, CAPES! helps each child feel like a superhero, celebrating their unique abilities and progress.

Students who are taking Human Exceptionality or Adapted Physical Education courses create individualized lessons to help children improve their social interaction, balance, agility, motor skills, strength and fitness, fine motor skills, communication, and more. These interactions help enhance students’ teaching skills and develop their beliefs that each child can learn, no matter their level of ability.

CAPES! relies on private donor funding to purchase adaptive equipment, hold end-of semester celebrations and hire student interns to manage operations. A naming gift of $400,000 would ensure CAPES! can continue in perpetuity, empowering future educators, giving children with disabilities a place of belonging, and supporting their parents with a welcoming community. In addition to securing the program’s future, this endowment would allow us to expand to reach more children with disabilities and provide more WSU students with hands-on experience.