A Destined Partnership

This week, The Roland Center hosted our newest friend and partner Frank Kolarek - Founder and President of League of Dreams.

League of Dreams exists to provide all individuals, regardless of ability level, the opportunity to experience the joy, challenges & personal growth associated with playing sports, learning water safety skills and participating in transformative STEM activities.

Frank and League of Dreams share The Roland Center's sentiment that it takes a village, and all areas of care to work in synchronicity, to truly affect positive and lasting change in health and wellness outcomes for individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

The status quo regularly sees the various fields of care for persons with IDD, operating in siloed environments, disconnected from one another. For care plans and service provision to truly be effective and person-centered - each professional who provides care must be adequately informed of all relevant information pertaining to an individual's diagnosis, conditions, and unique needs. This is the pre-requesite for providing the level of nuanced care that individuals with IDD require and deserve.

This includes home and community based supports, medical care, exercise and physical wellness programs, nutrition, and social/ community engagement programs all operating symbiotically and working toward a common goal: improving health outcomes, longevity and quality of life for individuals served.

Our latest connection with League of Dreams is an integral part of implementing the exercise and physical wellness piece into our already comprehensive model of complex and complete care, here at The Roland Center.

Opportunities we discussed together this week included, the transformation of our backlot into a state of the art, adaptive, multi-sports field and the introduction of specifically tailored programming to assist our individuals with finding fun and engaging ways to learn new skills, build confidence and community, all while improving and maintaining their health to the highest degree possible.

Storytime: While we were out in the field, showing Frank our space to be transformed - there lay an omen, hidden among the dry grass and weeds. A baseball. A particularly profound omen, considering Frank's history as a professional player, coach and scout and the founding focus of League of Dreams: using baseball as the platform for community, connection and growth for people with differing abilities.

Our final evening together, before Frank's departure back to the East Coast, he and members of our senior leadership team signed the ball - in classic league fashion, with the skipper signing in the sweet spot. All to mark the beginning of a tremendous journey.

Here's to improving the lives of those with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, all over the country and beyond!

Thank you so much for travelling out to spend this time with us Frank. We appreciate our new connection and look forward to what the future holds for both our organizations, as we work together for the continued benefit of those we serve.

Blog posted authored by Antony Talia,

Director of Communications and Advancement at The Roland Center,

08/13/26