CHARLESTON, Ill. (WAND) — Out on the football field at Eastern Illinois University, Ben Butler gets his kicks in.
"I'm kind of enjoying it right now," he said. "I've been practicing kicking field goals and throwing footballs to the football players."
The sophomore from Sullivan High School is taking the field as part of the Beautiful Lives Project, a program that brings sports and fine arts experiences to people with a variety of disabilities.
"The Beautiful Lives Project allows these kids to experience something they wouldn't get anywhere else," said Sullivan special education teacher Aly Earl. "They're not going to be the kids with a big group of friends or a team to hang out with and they're going to experience that today."
Ben and dozens of other kids and adults got to run through nearly a dozen football drills coordinated by EIU's players. Each station brought a different facet of the game to the field, allowing participants in the program to experience football on their terms.
"To see them smile and enjoy the moment with others and the impact they can have on other human begins is great," said EIU head coach Chris Wilkerson. "It's certainly part of [my team's] development as people and certainly part of their overall experience at Eastern."
The players agree. Many of them spent the overcast morning smiling and hyping up each participant in the program as they worked their way through the stations.
"It also makes our days better by just seeing the smile on their face and seeing that they're having fun," said redshirt senior Tre'Jon Lewis.
Bryce Weiler has never let a visual impairment slow him down. He founded the Beautiful Lives Project after the University of Evansville men's basketball team brought him onto the bench in college. That experience inspired him to give back to others with disabilities so they could feel the same inclusion he felt inside the world of sports.
"These events are all segues into those broader conversations of the fact that people with disabilities can do whatever they dream of doing in their life," he said. "But someone has to be willing to give them that opportunity."
As the event drew to a close, Ben and others got their final kicks and passes in — savoring the opportunity to score lifetime memories.
To learn more about the Beautiful Lives Project, click here.
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