TAMPA, Fla. \u2014 As the Tampa Bay Buccaneers prepare for their home opener against the Cleveland Browns, one local fan group is working toward a goal that goes beyond wins and losses.<\/p>\n
The Buccaholics, a fan group with 26,000 members, are using their love of the Bucs to support children and families facing significant challenges.<\/p>\n
Over the past 11 years, the group has raised $120,000 for nonprofits through its tailgating events. This season, the Buccaholics hope to raise another $20,000, with the money going to The Movement School in Largo.<\/p>\n
The school provides specialized education and support for children with disabilities, including students who need additional assistance beyond what traditional public schools can offer.<\/p>\n
Aiden Webber Lopez was born three and a half months premature, weighing just 1 pound, 6 ounces.<\/p>\n
His mother, Lisette Lopez, said becoming a parent for the first time while facing the uncertainty of Aiden\u2019s medical challenges was overwhelming.<\/p>\n
At 18 months old, Aiden was diagnosed with quadriplegic cerebral palsy, which affects all four of his limbs. His family was told he would likely require lifelong care.<\/p>\n
Aiden attended public school through first grade, but his mother said the school could not provide everything he needed.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s when Lisette and her husband Matt found The Movement School.<\/p>\n
Sixteen years later, Lisette said the school has given her son opportunities to learn, socialize and build skills in a supportive environment.<\/p>\n
The school has also helped Aiden develop abilities that go beyond what many people might expect.<\/p>\n
Today, he can ride a bike, swim and compete in Special Olympics. He\u2019s also a passionate Buccaneers fan.<\/p>\n
Aiden and his family are members of the Buccaholics, bringing the fan group and the school together for this season\u2019s fundraising effort.<\/p>\n
Ray Kennedy with the Buccaholics said meeting students like Aiden has motivated the group to keep working toward its fundraising goal.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you start to learn more about young boys like Aidan in the Movement School, you start to realize $20,000 \u2014 you want to set it even higher,\u201d Kennedy said. \u201cBut it just gives us a goal to continue to work for.\u201d<\/p>\n
The money raised this season will help The Movement School purchase new equipment and launch additional types of therapy.<\/p>\n
Lisette Lopez is now a staff member at the school and has seen firsthand how the support can make a difference for students and their families.<\/p>\n
The school also plans to bring students to Buccaholics tailgates during the season, giving fans an opportunity to meet the children and learn more about their experiences.<\/p>\n
The Buccaholics plan to continue their tailgate fundraisers throughout the football season.<\/p>\n
The group also travels to one away game each year. This season, members will tailgate the Buccaneers\u2019 matchup against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field.<\/p>\n
Fans who cannot attend a tailgate can still contribute online through the following links:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TAMPA, Fla. \u2014 As the Tampa Bay Buccaneers prepare for their home opener against the Cleveland Browns, one…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":403479,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[770,113,276,2635,2287,115,202,204,203,199,201,200,135,4547],"class_list":["post-403478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-community-news","tag-education","tag-hillsborough-county","tag-jason-lanning","tag-local-politics","tag-news","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-news","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-bay-bucs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403478","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=403478"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403478\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/403479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=403478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=403478"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=403478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}