Matt Hayden gives out the first check from The Matt Hayden Foundation, $1000 to Alice Weber of the Ransburg YMCA.
Photo provided
NEW PALESTINE — When longtime county resident Lori McDaniel Hayden was a young mother a few decades ago, she told her son, Matt Hayden, who was born with cerebral palsy, they were not going to fret over his situation.
“I told him we’re not gonna cry or complain about it — we’re not gonna have that kind of thought in our house,” she said. “I just told him if we can’t do it one way, we’ll find another way.”
The family settled in Southern Hancock when Matt was in the second grade. In 2005, Matt graduated from New Palestine High School after years of taking part in wrestling, baseball and other activities despite his physical difference.
“He sat in the dugouts and was a good teammate and a real cheerleader,” Lori said.
Since then Matt, 36, has found a home in New Palestine and is a mainstay in the school district. He not only works at New Palestine Elementary School, but for years he has contributed as an assistant coach at NPHS, working with several boys and girls athletic teams.
His positive outlook and ability to always “find a way” to get the job done makes him a true asset to the district, officials say.
Matt’s goal is now to make sure others who might be challenged find ways to be included through specialized programs and disability equipment. Along with the help of his mother and several community members, the family has started The Matt Hayden Foundation.
The mission of the Foundation is enhancing diversity, inclusion and participation of youth in Hancock and Marion counties.
“We all have differences and some of the differences are more extreme than others, but everyone needs to be accommodated,” Lori said. “Matt has always had great empathy and compassion for people who struggle and has always looked for ways to help others, and the Foundation will do that.”
Matt has always been the type of person to inspire others through his actions of working hard and achieving his goals, despite his physical difference. Each football season the Grid Iron Alliance hands out the Matt Hayden Scholarship, a check given to the NPHS football athlete who, like Matt, never gives up and finds a way to get the job done while also contributing to the community.
“They gave that to me my senior year and each year they continue to hand it out,” Hayden said.
The creation of The Matt Hayden Foundation, however, takes the act of helping others to a whole new level. The long-term goal of the foundation is to be able to donate thousands to Hancock and Marion County youth to make sure all kids, including those with challenges, are included and given opportunities.
“All through COVID when I was sitting around thinking, I just kept coming back to I wanted to do more for my community that has given so much to me,” Matt said. “I just felt I could give way more than I was giving.”
Matt and his mother came up with the idea for the foundation together and, in late 2022, handed out the first check. The inaugural grant was given to the Ransburg YMCA. Their sports director, Alice Weber, accepted the $1,000 check to be used in support of a monthly mentoring program.
Lori noted her son has always been a dreamer and never let his differences hold him back, and now he wants to continue inspiring others to follow their dreams regardless of any challenges.
Her message to Matt as always been — “if you can’t participate in something, you can still be a part of something” she said. “Matt has always worked to make his dreams come true, and he finds a way.”
Matt once replied to the question, “What if we can’t win,” with the answer, “We’ll find a way and we’ll make a way,” Lori said. “That’s kind of always been Matt’s mantra, and that’s on the Matt Hayden Award with the Grid Iron … That’s how he sees life.”
The family noted that Matt’s community includes all of Central Indiana, and he hopes to be able to expand the giving through the foundation as it grows. For the past 22 years, Matt has worked with the Indiana Pacers, where he’s formed numerous friendships in Central Indiana. To this day, he still supports the Pacers, working as an usher at home games.
Despite her son’s differences, Lori set out to raise him the way she was raised, pushed with expectations to do well, knowing there are no limitations and it’s paid off, she said. When Matt was born, the family was told he’d probably never be able to walk or talk, both of which he does.
The Matt Hayden Foundation plans to hold a fundraiser later this year, but has not settled on the event. Lori noted they would not have been able to get the foundation off the ground if not for the help of several county residents who are now board members, including Ed Bogle, Dennis Judy, Gary Greene, along with at-large members, Shannon McDaniel, Jeff Bell and attorney Jason White.
The long-term goal of the foundation is to be able to support a different organization every six to eight months, and for Matt, who says there is no such word as “can’t,” his goal is to help young people from all backgrounds and with all kinds of challenges understand that.
“I just want to give and we have a long way to go because my dream on this is big,” Matt said. “I want to keep it going until I’m gone and then have the family carry it on.”
For more information on The Matt Hayden Foundation and to make a donation to the cause visit www.matthaydenfoundation.org or visit Facebook and search for the Matt Hayden Foundation. The Foundation can also be reached via U.S. mail at P.O. Box 245, New Palestine, 46163.
