The non-profit organization, the Now I Can Foundation, based in Provo, Utah, is joining forces with the Las Vegas Valley community on 8 October 2016 for a special event called the “Rock to Walk” music festival. The Now I Can Foundation is an organization dedicated to helping disabled children overcome physical disabilities, and so proceeds from the festival will go to help Las Vegas area children with disabilities to say, “Now I Can.”

Joel and Tracey Christensen whose oldest child, Colby Anne, was born with Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy, are the founders of the Intermountain West chapter of Now I Can. In 2005, after taking their then four-year-old daughter to Poland for a month of extensive therapy, and experiencing the incredible progress that she made there, they resolved to introduce the Intensive Model of Therapy and Suit therapy to Utah and surrounding areas. In doing so, not only would their family but others with disabled children could benefit from such effective treatment.

According to their website, “Our mission at Now I Can is to help children with disabilities reach their full potential and greatest independence.” Their vision statement reads, “Now I Can will become our clients first choice in physical therapy by providing the highest quality services and information – therapy that brings change!” Now I Can have helped kids from all over the country for the past decade. Based on proven studies which show that a three-week session of intensive therapy helps a child realize the same goals it would usually take a full year of traditional therapy to achieve, patients get therapy five days a week for four hours per day.

The “Rock to Walk” music festival will give residents the chance to rock out to their favorite local bands while contributing to children in need. The concert will feature LDS artists such as the musical band Brumby, and Brooklyn Thomasson, the lead singer of the group Tower of Cards. Other favorite bands participating in the event are Rusty Maples, Kiara Brown, The Black Tapes, and introducing New Masses.

“Rock to Walk” will be held 8 October 2016 from 6 to 10 pm at the beautiful, outdoor venue of Henderson Pavilion. Before the show, there will be a free engineering event open to the public from 4 to 6 pm on the Henderson Pavilion Bullseye. School-aged children are invited to participate in interactive engineering activities. During the festival, The Adelson Educational Campus, a private school in Northwest Summerlin, will kick off a valley-wide Now I Can Engineering Challenge.

About the event, Cheri Garner, a volunteer organizer for “Rock to Walk” and science teacher at Adelson Educational Campus commented, “We have seen great improvements in our 3-year old grandson’s mobility and confidence since working with the outstanding therapy team at Now I Can. This appreciation prompted our family to help organize a music festival in the Las Vegas area to raise money for children in Nevada to receive the same life-changing treatment our precious grandson enjoyed. We also want to raise awareness for children who struggle with basic tasks like walking. We appreciate the talented musicians in our valley who are willing to share their talents for such a worthy cause.”