Breaking the Barriers
Photo provided by Marc Maguire
Pi Sigma Epsilon members Marc Maguire and Paul Tahkar visited Break the Barriers to finalize the plans for their second annual golf tournament fund-raiser. This year the fraternity plans to donate $5,000 to the Break the Barriers foundation. |
By Anthony Galaviz
The Collegian
It all started in the back yard in 1984, Steve Hergenrader and his wife, Deby, started an afterschool program for Deby’s special-needs sister, Kathy, and 20 other people. They called the program Break the Barriers and today it serves 3,000 people weekly.
Break the Barriers offers many programs for able-bodied and disabled people. One is the Barrier Breakers, which formed in 1987 and is composed of 58 performers who showcase their talents all over the nation. They will appear at 2 p.m. at their fundraiser on Sunday at the 2nd Annual RainSoft Golf Tournament at Riverbend Golf Course in Madera at 8 a.m.
More than 100 golfers are already penciled in to play.
Marc Maguire, vice president of marketing for Alpha Mu Chapter of Pi Sigma Epsilon, a Fresno State marketing fraternity, said the fraternity will donate $5,000 to Break the Barriers.
The fraternity organized the entire event, including going out and finding the sponsers who made their large donation possible.
“That’s incredible,” Hergenrader said. “I’m impressed that young people can get involved in the community. I can’t tell you how appreciative I am.”
Break the Barriers moved its offices three times since 1984, most recently last year into a 32,000 square-foot building that sits at Cedar and Teague avenues.
“It was pretty hard,” Hergenrader said of changing locations. “It’s like nobody cared. It was frustrating. It was discouraging but we never let it get us down.”
The $2.5 million building features a full-sized basketball court and a 75-foot swimming pool with ramps for wheelchairs.
Break the Barriers is also the training center for Fresno County Special Olympics in gymnastics and power lifting.
Hergenrader said he’s ecstatic to see people support Break the Barriers.
“We’re a massive program,” Hergenrader said. “We’d rather show you what we do rather then tell you what we do. We all have disabilities. That’s how we look at it here. We put you in the program. We’re going to make you better. We’re just like a massive recreation center.”
RainSoft Water Treatment Systems President Joe Holstein, who’s the largest sponsor of the tournament, said he agrees.
“They’ve done some great things,” said Holstein, who teamed up with Pi Sigma Epsilon last year for a similar event. “We’re excited to be a part of that. They help families in the area. They help people all over the world.”
Maguire, who’s running the tournament along with project manager Paul Takhar, sad he is thrilled to achieve its goal in donating to Break the Barriers, thanks to the increase of sponsorship for the tournament.
“We donated $4,000 to the Chaffee Zoo last year,” he said. “We do this event to enhance our image. Break the Barriers supports people of all ages.”
Hergenrader said he is grateful to have formed Break the Barriers with his wife.
“The neat thing is we are a community built program,” he said. “We have the love for what we teach. Without the community support and Epsilon, we couldn’t be where we are at now. This fundraiser is special to us and means a lot to us.”
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