Company's chair hockey game benefited Easter Seals

Sitting in a chair isn't always as easy as it sounds.

Twelve teams of local office workers found that out when they spent a recent night playing hockey from their office chairs for charity.

People with disabilities, who often spend more than 10 hours a day in their wheelchairs and cannot stand up or easily adjust their position, are reminded of it every day.

The "R-Game for 'Chair-itey' Hockey Tournament," hosted by Rieke Office Interiors in its Elgin warehouse, raised $25,000 for the DuPage-Fox Valley branch of Easter Seals, a group that provides rehabilitation services for disabled children.

The money will pay for wheelchairs and assisting devices for children and young adults with disabilities, who often depend on their chairs for mobility and good health.

Amy Liss, a 24-year-old Easter Seals employee who, chair-bound due to cerebral palsy, was on hand as the master of ceremonies. Liss started at Easter Seals as a patient when she was 5 months old.

"My chair is my only form of independence," Liss said. "I can't stand, wiggle or move around like other people, so a custom-made chair is important for my health and comfort."

As they rolled around miniature hockey rinks on wheeled office chairs and barreled into walls that looked suspiciously like cubicle dividers, players got an idea what it's like to depend, even for a short time, on a chair.

"It was a bit challenging," said Diane Crawford, who led her team from C3, a local networking group, to the chair hockey championship.

"It's not the same as being in a wheelchair," Crawford said, "but you realize some of the difficulty people have maneuvering in a chair."

But it was the charity, not the competition, that drew most participants.

"It's just a great cause," said Alan Kirk, owner of Elgin's Total Home Health and captain of his company's team, "The Total Quack-Ups."

The companies participating were Rieke customers, Rieke President Chris Matus said.

"We heard about a Denver company that started doing this years ago," Matus said, "and we just thought it was a great event. We wanted to work with Easter Seals, and our customers were glad to get involved."