Coach Don has been the gym teacher at Washington Elementary School in Berkeley for many years. He and his son Jonah run a summer camp called Recreational and Team Sports (RATS), which enrolls kids of all ages, socioeconomic backgrounds, and levels of athletic ability. Like Chris Walton, Coach Don is a genius for meeting kids where they are and engaging them. Even clumsy children love RATS, because Don and Jonah find a mix of activities that works for everyone — accentuating different strengths and styles of play. Working for coach Don is many kids’ first job, one that they eagerly anticipate for years!
RATS is a kindness perpetual motion machine. Don and Jonah run it as a non-profit committed to ensuring that any kid who wants to can enroll, which is a godsend for working families here in Berkeley. I don’t think they turn anyone away for inability to pay, thanks both to their benevolent spirit and the generosity they inspire among those parents who can pay more than the $250 it costs to send a child to RATS for a week.
RATS is truly a Berkeley institution, and Coach Don and the Arreola-Burl family embody everything Chris Walton stood for. I can’t think of a more deserving nominee for the Chris Kindness Award.
