Ms. Wheelchair California 2009 : Ms. Wheelchair America 2010, 2nd Runner Up: June 2009

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Surfing in Huntington Beach

Alyson spent the day surfing about a month ago with Life Rolls On in Huntington Beach. Several media crews were there. Here is a portion of what was filmed!

Monday, June 8, 2009

Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC)

Ms. Wheelchair California, Alyson Roth, and First Runner Up, Jennifer Kumiyama visited children who were patients at CHOC this afternoon. What a difficult but rewarding day!

There were many children who were admitted into CHOC for various reasons, but probably the hardest was visiting the children on the 3rd floor who have cancer. Cancer does not have an age limit and is not gender specific. It attacks any and all people, and many times without warning. The youngest person they met was only 18 months old, and she was diagnosed at 9 months old. Her grandmother stays with her during the day while mom and dad work, dad comes to stay with her in the evenings, and mom stays with her during the weekends. Words don't express the amount of sympathy that goes out to these families who endure so much heartache, grief, and pain for their children.

One of the first patients Alyson and Jennifer met was an 8 year old girl named Kayla. She was busy painting with her mother and grandmother, but quickly turned to playing a version of Monopoly called "Dog-opoly." Supposedly, she always wins! Below is a picture of her with Alyson (left) and Jennifer (right).

Finally, they met a patient who had just been admitted. It was her first day. The 12 year old, Jennifer, seemed nervous as she sat in her hospital bed with her 14 year old sister sitting next to her. Trying to put yourself in her shoes was almost mind-blowing. One can only imagine if you've never experienced the devastating effect of cancer.

May God be with and comfort the patients, family members, and friends of each of these little angels. Each are already survivors.

Schedule An Appearance

Ms. Wheelchair California is available for speaking engagements, master of ceremony events, parades, photo opportunities and other community events. All events will be considered, and if deemed appropriate and scheduling allows, the Ms. Wheelchair California Foundation will do its best to accommodate your request.

Please contact the Ms. Wheelchair California office www.mswheelchaircaliforniafoundation.org.

(* Please note that during my reign, my title was underneath the Ms. Wheelchair California pageant with Ruthee Goldkorn as the State Coordinator. Ms. Wheelchair America no longer recognizes her pageant as part of the National program, thus a new Foundation was begun for future title holders to continue spreading advocacy in a positive manner.)

Biography

Alyson Roth, Ms. Wheelchair California 2009, lived in Southern California when she was crowned. In 2000, Alyson was involved in a near-fatal car accident that left her with a spinal cord injury and paralyzed from the waist down. Alyson obtained her BS in Music Education at Samford University, and her MS in Elementary Reading and Literacy from Walden University. While at Samford University, she was successful in establishing a “Disability Awareness Week” where students learned about different disabilities and simulated them in order to understand the barriers that confronted students with disabilities. It brought a new awareness to the campus and became a catalyst for further accessibility within the community. After graduation, she taught music in the public and private school sector before joining Free Wheelchair Mission in 2007. Free Wheelchair Mission is a non-profit organization that distributes wheelchairs to over 80 countries around the world to the poorest people with disabilities.

Alyson continued her advocacy by speaking at both the National Association for Music Education’s National Convention (2004) with her session entitled “Barrier-free Music Education: Concepts of Inclusion” and the National Orff Schulwerk Association National Convention (2005) with her session entitled “Mainstreaming the Process”. These sessions taught other music educators how to turn able-bodied music lessons into lessons that included those children with disabilities in the mainstreamed classroom. She has also written several articles and been published in several magazines regarding disability awareness.

Yosemite National Park is now more wheelchair friendly and ADA compliant due to Alyson’s input while sitting on the Board of Directors. She has assisted Habitat for Humanity to help build a house for a disabled member of the Atlanta inner-city community. To bring more recognition to those with disabilities, Alyson presented the “Ability through Mobility” Award to four recipients around the country for their outstanding work within their community despite their disability. She has traveled to Nicaragua to work at an orphanage for children with disabilities and teach music at a school for the blind. Alyson has also traveled to Mexico to deliver wheelchairs to the country’s poorest people with disabilities and has had the opportunity to collaborate with the former president of Mexico, President Vicente Fox, about the importance of providing wheelchairs to the citizens of Mexico in addition to providing aide and healthcare to everyone.

In her free time, Alyson enjoys providing mentorship for newly injured patients, participating in several outdoor activities including waterskiing, surfing, and swimming. It is Alyson’s desire to educate the public on the truths of having a disability and empower those with a disability to be all they can be in a world full of possibilities.

Ms. Wheelchair California 2009 : Ms. Wheelchair America 2010, 2nd Runner Up

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Surfing in Huntington Beach

Monday, June 8, 2009

Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC)

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Meeting Mr. Jay

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Alyson Roth Formal Picture

Alyson Roth Business Picture

Alyson Roth Fan Picture

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