The patients’ faces light up with excitement as the first cheerleader, Little Lily, does her stunt.

“She’s so pretty,” one of the patients whisper. Behind the scenes, Senior Sami Ritter and her 10-year-old buddy, Gabby, get excited about their upcoming performance. They go over exactly what they need to do so Gabby’s nerves are calmed and she feels prepared.

As the others continue to perform, off to the side, a girl starts to cry. Her buddy picks her up and bounces her around. With the help of another buddy, they try to make her smile and keep her quiet while the other girls are performing.

After a few more performances, it’s Sami and Gabby’s turn to do their log roll. As do all the buddies, Sami does the stunt first and then their girls  follow after them.

The concept of having the buddies go first is it shows the girls what they’re doing and that it’s okay for them to do their stunts. Adrenaline Explosion Cheer (AEC), a cheer team for kids with special needs, held a performance on Nov. 9 at Ranken Hospital to showcase their  talents  to the young patients and their parents.

Sami volunteers as a buddy, along with three other girls from North, sophomore Bailey Bay, and seniors Haley Stegman and Kelli Balch. Sami first started volunteering with AEC two years ago when she had to opportunity to fill in for another volunteer.

“I’ve always liked helping people and had the opportunity to do it,” Sami said. “I didn’t realize I would get anything out of it.” Sami’s buddy, Gabby, has Down Syndrome. Those with Down Syndrome have poor strength, poor muscle mass and usually have cardiovascular health problems.

Despite certain challenges, Gabby is always happy and her hard-working motives have her loving to learn and try new things, according to Sami.

“We push the girls as far and as comfortable with what they’re doing,” Sami said. “They seem to be doing really well.”

As a buddy, the volunteers help the girls with stunts such as forward and backwards rolls, cartwheels, builds and pyramids. They also assist them with dances and routines they learn.

“I absolutely love doing it because it’s the best hour and a half of my week,” Sami said. “Seeing the smile on their faces and the enjoyment they get while doing it.” Kylie, Sami’s younger sister, has Cystic Fibrosis.

Cystic Fibrosis is a disease that causes mucus to build up in the lungs or other areas and can cause delayed growth. Sami’s sister has had a strong effect on the way Sami lives her life and chooses to relate to others. “I  don’t    want   anyone  to   treat her differently, even  though she doesn’t  look    different,”

Sami said. Founder of  AEC, Sara Von Harz, start- ed  the  program her sophomore year in high school. There are 15 volunteers, each paired up with a cheerleader who range from five years old to 18 years old.

On top of teaching the girls stunts, once a month they have a sign language session for the girls to learn sign language so they can communicate with everyone on the team.

“I like being able to see the kids’ progress, see the skills they get and see how happy their parents get when they see their kids do something they would never do,” Sara said. Along with volunteering, Sami has done mission trips with her church youth group; her most recent trip was over the summer to New York.

Her youth group worked with the elderly special needs called Camp Pioneer and volunteered with the Special Olympics. Work- ing with those groups of people made Sami consider looking into medical field involving careers with people with special needs.

“I’ve gained that you really can’t judge a book by the cover,” Sami said. “You’ve really got to get to know the person and once you do, you find out how amazing people really are. And how much it means to them that you care.”