Avengers Inclusion Organization

10/06/2026

❤️ Volunteer Spotlight: The Travis Family ❤️

Some people become part of your Avengers family long after their last season—and Kevin and AubreyTravis are two of those people.

From 2021–2023, this father-and-daughter team shared their time and hearts with our Avengers as a baseball coach and buddy. They also helped with our track meet, Walk for Down Syndrome, bowling, and soccer. We kept them SUPER busy, and we are so thankful for every bit of themselves they gave!

Beyond the activities, they helped create what matters most: friendships, connection, and moments when our athletes felt supported, celebrated, and included. We miss them dearly, but we love seeing them continue to make a difference.

Kevin now coaches the Sierra Vista Special Olympics team and runs the City of Sierra Vista’s adult adaptive recreation program. We’re grateful to keep that connection going through our spring exhibition game against his team! Aubrey is off at NAU, continuing to make the world an amazing place. ❤️

Kevin and Aubrey, thank you for the laughter, encouragement, and love you brought to our athletes and families. You helped make so many memories possible, and you will always be part of our Avengers family. 💙

10/03/2026

Today, Avengers Inclusion attended and presented at the 1st Sierra Vista Youth Symposium! Youth connected with local organizations and businesses, shared what matters to them in our community, and explored new opportunities. Organizations also connected with one another to strengthen support for youth. Thank you Mark A Rodriguez for organizing this fantastic event and inviting us to participate. We loved being part of a day centered on our local youth’s voices and can’t wait to join again!

09/28/2026

09/26/2026

As we celebrate the volunteers who make Avengers Inclusion Organization what it is, we want to spotlight Coach Mike Akinola. One of the few original volunteers from our start❤️

Mike has been part of our soccer coaching team for six years and has served as head coach for the last four. But his place in our family goes all the way back to our first year, when his son Tishe joined us and Mike became a supportive parent from the background.

If you’ve ever tried to find a photo of Mike, you know how difficult it is! He even manages to slip out of end-of-game group pictures so the athletes and his assistant coaches can take center stage. That’s Coach Mike: quietly showing up, lifting others up, and never asking for the spotlight.

As we celebrate 10 years of Avengers, we’re deeply grateful for Mike’s steady leadership, kindness, insight, and support through so much of our journey. Coach Mike, thank you for all you give to our athletes and our community. We are beyond blessed to call you and your family part of ours.

09/26/2026

1st game of the soccer season!! Thank you Team Barcelona Vail Soccer Club Sierra Vista for a great morning on the pitch!!!

09/26/2026

Tonight, our hearts are full. 💙

At the Sierra Vista Herald’s Cochise County Heroes celebration, Avengers Inclusion Organization was honored in the Diversity & Inclusion Advocates category and named 2026 Citizens of the Year. We are deeply grateful to be chosen from among the incredible people recognized tonight—people who give their time and hearts in so many ways to make Cochise County better.

This year marks 10 years of Avengers Inclusion Organization, and these honors belong to everyone who has helped build it. To our adult volunteers and youth buddies: thank you for showing up, season after season. To our families: thank you for trusting us and growing with us. And to our athletes, including those who now volunteer as assistant coaches and umpires: you show us what this organization can become.

Every practice, every game, every friendship, and every moment someone feels they belong happens because of you. We are so proud to share this recognition with our entire Avengers family. Thank you, Cochise County, for believing in inclusion with us. 💙

09/25/2026

Section 504 is still law. But this ruling is a nationwide blow to disability rights.

A federal judge struck down parts of the 2024 HHS Section 504 rules that required covered health and human services programs to prioritize serving disabled people in the most integrated setting appropriate. Those federal rules are now gone across the country, not just in the states that brought the lawsuit.

U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix, appointed by President Trump in 2019, signed the judgment removing parts of the 2024 HHS rules that pushed covered programs to serve disabled people in the most integrated setting appropriate.

The states didn’t do this alone. The Trump administration’s Justice Department, representing HHS under RFK Jr., joined them in asking the court to remove these protections nationwide. Let that sink in: the federal government asked for this.

That does not erase Section 504, the ADA, or the Supreme Court’s Olmstead decision. Disabled people still have legal protections against unjustified segregation. But removing these rules weakens a federal tool for protecting the right to receive services in our communities.

Families and disabled adults are right to be concerned. Now we fight.

Call your governor and attorney general. Demand that they defend Section 504 and Olmstead, protect Medicaid home and community services, and oppose policies that push disabled people into institutions. Follow what your state does next. Show up. Speak out. Keep the pressure on.

We didn’t win these rights by staying quiet. We won’t protect them by staying quiet either.

09/23/2026

Prop 320 and Students With Disabilities. Read about this and more in this edition of Connecting Weekly. - https://mailchi.mp/encirclefamilies/connecting-weekly-2026-0920