Snohomish High School varsity football player Ike Ditzenberger and his head coach, Mark Perry, attended the Kindering’s sixth annual Salute to Courage Luncheon Benefit on May 6 in Bellevue and helped the organization raise more than $218,000, event organizers said.
Ditzenberger, who has Down syndrome, drew national attention last fall when he scored on a 51-yard touchdown run in Snohomish’s 35-6 loss to Lake Stevens. The play — known as the “Ike Special’ — has been viewed by millions on YouTube.
To see the video, click here.
“The truth is that I never thought about the fact that Ike had special needs – in my eyes he was just a young man that wanted to play football,” Perry told the audience at the luncheon. “I see the kid first and don’t recognize the disability.”
Kindering, which is based in Bellevue, is a non-profit neurodevelopmental center that offers therapy and services for infants and children who are “disabled, medically fragile or vulnerable because of abuse and neglect.”
Ike’s family received early-intervention services at Kindering through the first three years of his life.
To learn more about Kindering, visit the website at www.kindering.org.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
