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We are talking with Lauren Warner who's the associate director with Achilles New Jersey. She's also the branch lead Union County Achilles as well. Tell us more about what you all do as far as the community impact is concerned, Lauren. Um, so our goal is to empower individuals with disabilities to feel like they're part of society. Um, you know, there might be the individual out there who's visually impaired, who never thought they'd ever be able to run because they can't do it by themselves or ride a bike because they can't do it by themselves, or, um, An individual that has lost their legs and they, you know, they used to be an athlete and feel that they no longer can do it. Uh, so we get them on hand cycles, um. And it just helps them, you know, be part of society and bringing them together and putting that endurance back into their lives. I love the way you said that that inclusivity is so important so they don't feel excluded. Correct. What kind of reaction do you get from the athletes? Um, it's amazing. I mean, I think that is honestly what keeps me going. They are so grateful and thankful for us, um, you know, and they know that we're just volunteers. I mean, none of us get paid for this. We are just dedicating our time because we want to, not because we have to. How many volunteers do you have? Um, I can only speak for Cranford, and we have approximately 35 to 40 right now and over in a year's time, in a year's time. Congratulations on that. Thank you. Is their feeling and passion about being involved with this organization? And wanting to their time. Yeah. Yeah, I wanna say it's the same. I personally have lucked out and I have the most, um, generous and caring and helpful individuals, um, part of Cranford. And, you know, every single branch in New Jersey, really, the guides are just amazing, and without the guides, Achilles would not exist.

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We are putting the focus on Achilles, New Jersey based in Cranford. We are speaking with Rolando Lee right now who is a visually impaired athlete. Rolando, welcome. It's good to have you with us. Hi, it's great to be here. Go ahead and share your story with the audience. Uh, sure. So, um, about 3 years ago, a friend of mine asked me to run the Asbury Park Half Marathon. We worked together, we're both school teachers, and, um, it was kind of a big deal to me because I lost almost all my vision in my mid-20s, so over a decade ago now, and he knew I was legally blind, but yet he still asked me if I wanted to run it with him. And you know, most people kind of just assume that you probably can't even do this and they feel awkward, but he invited me to do it and I kind of took that as like kind of a little push for something that I had been looking for, you know, ever since I lost most of my vision, um, I was just kind of trying to piece my life back together and one of the things that I was definitely missing was the uh opportunities to kind of just compete in athletics and sports like that had always been a big part of my life. And so I agreed, I signed up for it, and everybody knows once you sign up, there's no turning back, and I just kind of needed to find how and where I was gonna train. Being, being blind is kind of tough to go out there and run and all that. So a friend of mine suggested maybe looking for a run club. And so I went online and um I didn't have to look for too long. I stumbled upon Achilles New Jersey on Facebook. And when I read their mission statement, it was, it seemed like it was absolutely perfect for me. It, they basically were just saying that they wanted to uh empower and support and guide people with disabilities. So I was nervous, you know. I thought I was gonna have to find a run club and they kind of introduce myself and ask if maybe somebody would be willing to run with me, but this, this group seemed perfect. So after a couple of weeks of being very nervous and overthinking it, I eventually just showed up one day and it was, it was so easy, you know, I showed up, uh, I met uh Joe who was in Rochelle Park.

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Rolando Lee is a visually impaired athlete with Achilles, New Jersey in Cranford. You were telling me how athletes work together to help each other. Go ahead. Yeah, so when you show up to one of the runs, um, they will pair you up with a guide. Maybe, maybe, uh, if you're lucky, you'll get a couple of guides. But, uh, depending on what your disability is, they'll, they'll give you some sort of equipment. For me, they give me a tether where I hold one end and my guide will hold another end. And we'll run together, obviously, you know, because I'm legally blind. So when we run together, um, that's the one of the best parts about Achilles, the guides, just they're there for the athlete, right? The athlete is the person with disability. They'll ask us, you know, what's your pace like, what, what do you, uh, what distance do you wanna run? So it's really up to you, you know, some people walk, some people run, some people are like dash, you know, full sprints, it's, it's, and it's amazing to me that the guides are just, they're ready to accommodate you at Achilles, and that's one of the best parts. So ever since, uh, I joined, I, I usually will run with some, with some of the same guides, but I always meet new people and Um, I think Lauren was mentioning this earlier that they're just always the nicest, kindest, ready to help you out in anything you can. So it's a great experience. And then we train for races, which is a big part of Achilles, and we'll get ready to train and run our actual races. How many races have you run with Achilles? Uh, a lot. I, I run out as much as I can. The big races, I have run 5 marathons with Achilles. I've done a New York City marathon twice, Boston Marathon twice, and in a couple of weeks, I'll be running Chicago marathon. Achilles as well. Whoa, dude, you're taking on some big ones here. Go on with your bad self. What would you say um about Achilles being transformational in your life? Because I know they had to be traumatic when you lost your vision. Yes. Yeah, so. Um, unlike, I guess other people that I've met ever since I, I've become a part of the blind community, you know, I was kind of on my own when I lost most of my vision. I was in my mid-twenties. I went back to school and I've always just kind of been in that world. And so I struggled to meet and find other people with similar disabilities and, and that makes you kind of feel like you're alone on an island a lot, you know, cause people are there to help and support you, but There's not really anybody who kind of understands, you know, how things are. And uh when I joined with Achilles was the first time I really started to meet up with other people of all sorts of different disabilities. Of course, right, there's wheelchair users and all that different kind of thing, but I did meet and I've made Some really excellent friends there, uh, that are blind and visually impaired and they put me on to tons of things. So one example I could give is, uh, a friend of mine at Achilles told me about uh guide dogs, that there's a place where they have guide dogs that can also run with you. And if it wasn't for her and my newfound love for running, I probably would have never gotten a guide dog and I just, I just completed the training about a month ago and now I have my guide dog Atticus, who's, you know, amazing, and that has completely turned, turned my life upside down in good ways only, but.

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We are talking about Achilles, New Jersey. We have Karen Massaro and her son Jack, who belonged to the Rochelle Park chapter. Welcome to the two of you. Thank you. We're happy to be here. How did you all get involved and how long have you been active with them? Uh, Jack's been running with Achilles for 2 years, and it was a friend at a Special Olympics meet, um, who knew that Jack loved to run distance, and she said, hey, you have to come to Achilles, um, you're gonna love it. Um, so our first practice was the weekend after the ran the New York City marathon. Speaking of the, go ahead. I was gonna say the New York City Marathon, one of your children, your brother, Jack, is gonna help you with a marathon, right? Yep. Tell us about that. My brother Cole is a runner, and he trained me. We used to go on long runs. But then Cole went off to college and Jack lost his running buddy, and we were so lucky and blessed to find Achilles, and we were welcomed with open arms. Um, I can't tell you how the community has not only opened up Jack's world, but opened up my world. Um, the, the people we have met, the Guides to work with him, who selflessly volunteer their time every weekend coming to races, going to different countries to run races with them. I mean, this is a group of people, they're exceptional, not only the athletes, but the guides, and we're so blessed to be. Part of this, um, it's pretty incredible. Karen and Jack, knowing that you're not alone in the world, not just New Jersey in meeting these other people, how does that make you feel? I mean, when you're, you have a child and they're diagnosed, Jack's a young man on the autism spectrum and You know, you, you think, oh my gosh, you know, you want them to achieve things and they have dreams and goals, and how are you gonna go about doing this? And I can't tell you, I would never put a cap on what Jack can do because with the right support and love and guidance, I mean these athletes accomplished so much.

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Karen Massaro and her son Jack belong to the Rochelle Park chapter of Achilles, New Jersey. You all are talking about how wonderful this organization has been to you. Jack, go ahead, let people know what it means to you and what they can get out of it. Achilles means everything to me. I'm, I'm a runner. I run fast. People cheer for me, cross the finish line. I love all our races I run. I run fast, work hard, and I accomplish my goals. You accomplish your goals. What kind of a feeling and sense of accomplishment does that give you, Jack, when you cross that finish line? It gives me like I'm the champion of the world. I love that. You go, dude, you are the champion of the world. What more would you like to do with Achilles? I like to do the Chicago Marathon, the Boston Marathon, and the Disney World Marathon. Those are my future goals. The Disney World Marathon, that's the first I've heard of that one. All right, that should be a lot of fun. Tell me about the relationships and the friendships you've made with people with Achilles. It even. I run with my partner Andrea, our friend Lenny, along with a nice young man named Dan. He's very nice and he likes the same stuff I like. What kind of things you guys talk about when you talk about our favorite movies, our favorite TV shows, and our favorite video games. All right, so what's your favorite TV show since we're on TV? Oh, I'm glad you asked me. Oh, OK. My favorite TV show is Danny Phantom. Really? All right, Danny Phantom. He runs fast and he goes into ghost mode. So during the races, Jack and his guides go into goose mood and they run back together. Jack, what message do you want to leave with people about joining Achilles and what this can do for them? I know the message I want to leave for Achilles is to never give up and find a way. Never give up and find a way. Yes, dude, thank you very much, Karen and Jack. We appreciate it.

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Associate Director Lauren Warner joined News 12’s Della Crews to discuss the organization and their goals.

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