A limo ride to the stadium, an air-conditioned box to watch the entire UT football game and a photo with the tallest players — 10-year-old Sloane Rainey’s dream day may not be out of reach anymore.
Through the national Dream on 3 Collegiate Program, corporate communications junior Madison Frain and business junior Brad Siegel co-founded the UT Dream Team last year to help local children with life-altering conditions experience their sports dreams. They surprised Sloane at Cabo Bob’s on Sept. 9 to announce her as this year’s “dreamer.”
“I felt so excited I could barely even speak,” Sloane said. “There were so many exciting feelings.”
The team consists of 30 students, each working in a different subcommittee, such as fundraising or planning. Each year, the team selects one child from a list of applicants sent by Dream on 3 as their “dreamer.” The team has planned one weekend event for Sloane’s dream sports experience and monthly hangouts. According to the Dream on 3 website, children must be referred to the program by a healthcare provider.
“(The Dream Team) was talking to me about different things, and I like that because I can answer one question and that can remind me of another,” Sloane said. “They were all just wondering about me. That’s what made it awesome. Also, just the fact that they’re putting this together for me — nobody else, just me — it made me feel really happy.”
Sloane’s mom, Rebecca Rainey, said Sloane, after being born 10 weeks early, experienced bleeding in the portion of the brain that controls motor function. Rebecca said doctors later diagnosed Sloane with cerebral palsy. Currently, Sloane’s cerebral palsy affects her balance, muscle control and coordination, which she works to improve through physical therapy by wearing ankle-foot orthoses and sleeping with a knee immobilizer.
“I really do think Sloane is very special, and when you think about obstacles, kids Sloane’s age in elementary school are typically playing and socializing through physical activities,” Rebecca Rainey said. “We want to find those outlets where Sloane can have a community, have support and do things that she loves.”
In addition to her big dream, Sloane said she wants to meet the cheerleaders and head football coach Steve Sarkisian, see the drone show and take a photo with the cannon, the drum and Bevo.
“Sloane dreams big,” Siegel said. “It definitely is motivating us to expand the scope of Dream on 3. I think it’s such a cool experience to have, especially for both of her parents, who went to UT, for them to be able to come back to campus.”
The Dream Team’s monthly hangouts with Sloane consist of events like jewelry making, ice cream runs and gingerbread house crafting.
“We are so lucky to be able to go to UT and to let someone like Sloane have an experience like a true Texas Longhorn,” Frain said. “That’s why we always say we like to give them the joy of being a Texas Longhorn because, to us, there is no greater joy.”
