MEET MORE 2025 UNITY AWARD WINNERS
THREE DAYS BEFORE his 13th birthday, Damian Buchman was diagnosed with bone cancer in his right leg.
“I went from being a 5-foot-7 eighth-grader nearly able to dunk a basketball to immediately in a knee immobilizer on crutches, and then acquiring an ambulatory disability for the rest of my life,” says Buchman. After seven months of remission, he was diagnosed with cancer in his left leg. No one expected him to survive, let alone walk again. Buchman defied the odds and did both.
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He spent his teen years adjusting to his new normal, sitting on the stands instead of playing volleyball or basketball, his favorite sports. He remembers watching his siblings play basketball in the driveway with neighbor kids and crying because he couldn’t play with them the way he used to.
Buchman’s experience is the fuel driving his work at The Ability Center, the nonprofit he founded to create opportunities for people with disabilities to exercise and play sports.
Thanks to an accessible plaza and mat pathway from the street to the lake, older people who use walkers can join their grandkids at Bradford Beach. People in wheelchairs and those with mobility issues can take a hand-powered bike ride – no foot pedaling required – through Veterans Park.
And at The Ability Center’s open gyms, anyone is welcome to join in accessible sports – think wheelchair basketball or a game called goalball, where both non-blind and visually impaired people wear blackout goggles to play.
The Ability Center also visits schools through its Adaptive Scholastic Athletic Program. Buchman recalls when a fifth-grade student in a wheelchair got to play wheelchair basketball with her classmates. She later went on to become a competitive athlete with the Wisconsin Adaptive Sports Association, which Buchman also founded.
“Everyone played with her the way she played, which allowed her to feel comfortable moving into that other world that was new to her,” says Buchman.
The Ability Center’s most recent project is its biggest yet. In partnership with the nationally known playground equipment company GameTime, it’s currently spearheading the development and construction of Moss Park, an 18-acre, universally accessible park and playground. (The first phase of the park in Wauwatosa is set to be completed this year.)
In all his endeavors, Buchman’s goal isn’t merely to create accessible spaces, but to create opportunities for people of all abilities to engage in physical activity together. His philosophy is that people are only “temporarily able-bodied.”
At some point, whether due to disease, an accident or aging, everyone will face changes in their mobility. “For me, it’s about delivering opportunities in the new normal, wherever you find yourself,” he says.
An Organization That Inspires Damian
“The Jewish Community Center welcomes anyone and everyone and serves people well beyond their walls to give back to the community. It’s the most intentionally inclusive organization in Milwaukee I can think of.”
How can people create more unity in Milwaukee?
“Come play with us! Anybody can show up at our open gyms to play together with people who have disabilities. The best part is almost nobody knows what they’re doing. The wheelchair is such a great equalizer.”
