Stratosphere Cheerabilities
Merv Sensenig is one of our longest-term people, 37 years this month with our paving division.
He's also a cheerleader dad.
His daughter Christine is a member of the Miracles squad at Stratosphere Cheerabilities, an adaptive competitive cheerleading program for athletes with special needs based out of Lancaster. When we sat down to think about which organizations we wanted to support this year, this one didn't require much conversation.
Dave Haldeman founded Stratosphere in 2020. While a supervisor at the Occupational Development Center in Lancaster, he looked around and noticed that kids and young adults with special needs wanted to cheer competitively, but they had essentially no path to do it.
So he built one.
The program practices at the Vizion Athletix gym in Lancaster. It's a 501(c)3 nonprofit. And it's completely free to participants.
Uniforms, competition fees, travel assistance... Stratosphere's mission is to make sure none of those costs land on the families of athletes who want to compete. Their stated goal is clear: every athlete's needs get met, on and off the competition floor.
What they've built in 5 years
The Miracles squad has been climbing fast.
In 2024, they won a silver medal at the AllStar World Championships. In April of 2025, they traveled back to Orlando and came home with bronze, finishing 3rd among 8 teams in their division. They were the only team from Vizion Athletix to medal across all 6 competing squads.
One of the athletes has cerebral palsy and rheumatoid arthritis and cheers from a wheelchair. Competing at the AllStar World Championships had been her lifelong dream. She was there.
Parents have stated that the program gives their children a better quality of life for as long as possible.
There aren't many ways to respond to that except to do whatever you can to make sure the program keeps going.
What it costs to keep this running
Stratosphere runs entirely on donations and community support. There's no registration fee to fall back on. When the Miracles squad headed to Orlando last year, they needed roughly $4,500 just for entrance fees and spectator passes. Haldeman fundraised to offset those costs, and community members who'd read about the team through local channels and news organizations donated enough to reimburse parents and cover passes. Most of those donors had never met the athletes.
Haldeman said receiving checks from strangers who had no connection to the program was humbling.
New uniforms are the next goal heading into the 2026 competition season.
Supporting one of our own
We were proud to present Stratosphere Cheerabilities with a $6,000 donation. Knowing that one of our own crew members has a daughter competing on that floor had a great impact on us.
Pictured at the check presentation: Shannon Shaner, Cheer Coach and Cheerleader Mother; Merv Sensenig, Lyons & Hohl Paving and Cheerleader Father; Christine Sensenig, Cheerleader; Mike Hohl, President of Lyons & Hohl; and Dave Haldeman, Stratosphere Cheerabilities Founder and Coach.
How to help
Stratosphere Cheerabilities accepts donations directly and puts every dollar toward keeping participation free and covering competition costs for athletes who've earned their spot on the floor.
You can find them on Facebook (Vizion Athletix Miracles SSC INC) or reach out to Dave Haldeman through Vizion Athletix in Lancaster. If you're a business in Lancaster County looking to support them heading into next season, they could use it.