Top 5 Favorite Days of the Year
By Marc Rosenblum
My life changed forever when my good friend asked me to attend Jewish Big Brother Big Sister’s Yom Sport event which provides adults with disabilities throughout Greater Boston with an opportunity to come together and participate in a variety of sporting events.
When she asked me to attend many years ago, I had a lot of excuses not to go. I was worried about attending and even while driving there, I had thoughts of turning the car around and going home. My good friend knew that Yom Sport would be particularly meaningful as I have an older step-sister, Barbie, with Down Syndrome and the impact she has had on my life.
Fast forward many years later and Yom Sport is now one of my top 5 favorite days of the year even though I am not sure what the other 4 days are. I leave every Yom Sport year feeling even more alive knowing that we are making a difference in the lives of the participants. The smiles on the athletes’ faces are amazing! They are having so much fun at the event and everyone looks forward to returning year after year.
Yom Sport has become a family affair as I met my wife, Belinda, at Yom Sport when she was the co-chair from CJP. My 8-year-old daughter, Becca, and 10-year-old son, Seth, now attend every year with me. My 24-year-old daughter, Olivia, also attends regularly. They love seeing “daddy” in action and understand why volunteering is so important. To give you an idea of how connected we feel, Seth was born 3 days before Yom Sport and my wife and I went directly from the hospital to Yom Sport to share our bundle of joy with our Yom Sport family!
As I think ahead, I have 3 wishes for Yom Sport:
- That this event never ends.
- That Becca one day runs Yom Sport.
- That my step-sister Barbie can participate in Yom Sport.
If you are reading this, I encourage you to sign up and volunteer for Yom Sport. I feel confident that your life will change for the better.
Marc Rosenblum is originally from Long Island, NY, currently lives in Littleton, MA and is the father of 3 kids (24, 10 and 8) and has been married for 13 years. He has volunteered in many facets with JBBBS over the last 17 years. He began with being a Big Brother for 5 years. He also participated in the Friend 2 Friend program and is still in contact with his Friend regularly. Marc also rode and raised money as part of the Rodman Ride for Kids. Lastly, his participation with Yom Sport has been life changing. Marc has run the Boston Marathon from 2013 to 2023 and has raised over 150K dollars for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He is preparing for his first ½ Ironman and full Ironman in 2024.