SHORT
HILLS, N.J., Feb. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- The Christopher Reeve Foundation
(CRF) announced today that it has awarded $717,404 in Quality of Life
grants to 90 nonprofit organizations around the world. The Quality of
Life program was conceived by the late Dana Reeve as a way for the CRF
to help improve the day-to-day health and well-being of those living
with paralysis. Since the program's inception in 1999, 1,163 grants
totaling $9,220,980 have been awarded.
"The
Christopher Reeve Foundation is proud to carry on Christopher and Dana
Reeve's amazing legacy and make a real difference in the lives of
people living with paralysis, their families and communities," said
Kathy Lewis, president and CEO of the CRF. "Our Quality of Life
grantees help thousands of individuals Go Forward to lead happier --
and healthier -- lives."
The
organizations funded in this cycle provide numerous examples of how CRF
grants improve lives. For instance, the Tetra Society of North America
pairs skilled engineers and technicians with individuals living with
paralysis, building ingenious custom-made solutions to everyday
problems.
"Often, commercial products or services simply
do not exist to address many of the everyday problems faced by those
living with paralysis," said Joseph Canose, vice president of Quality
of Life. "Many of the non-profit organizations we fund provide people
with vital, life-changing benefits they could not receive elsewhere,
and it is enormously gratifying for us to support their important work."
A grant to the Rutgers University Foundation will support
mobileWOMEN.org, an informational website for women in wheelchairs that
informs readers on everything from reproductive health and wellness
issues to beauty and fashion advice.
A grant to
Disabled Sports USA will help support "Mentoring for Success," which
matches soldiers who became disabled fighting in the war in Iraq, the
"Wounded Warriors," with youth with disabilities. The program will
build on a previous CRF grant that trained these veterans in many
adaptive sports programs and now enables them to give back to the
community as they transition from military to civilian life.
Awarded in 13 categories that help people with paralysis become more
fully integrated members of society, including health promotion,
employment, sports and recreation, and advocacy, Quality of Life grants
are given to programs across the globe.
CRF Quality of
Life Grants are awarded twice annually to programs or projects that
improve the well-being of people living with paralysis, particularly
spinal cord injuries. Grants that focus on improving the health of
individuals are funded through a cooperative agreement with the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (Cooperative Agreement number
U10/CCU220379).
About CRF
The
Christopher Reeve Foundation is dedicated to curing spinal cord injury
by funding innovative research, and improving the quality of life for
people living with paralysis through grants, information and advocacy.
For more information about the Quality of Life Program or for a
complete list of the Quality of Life grant recipients, please visit our
website at http://www.christopherreeve.org/.
About The Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Resource Center
The Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Resource Center (PRC), a
program of the Christopher Reeve Foundation, formed through a
cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (Cooperative Agreement number U10/CCU220379), provides
information services to people and their families nationwide who are
living with paralysis. For more information on the PRC, please visit
http://www.paralysis.org/.
Christopher Reeve Foundation
CONTACT: Maggie Goldberg, 1-800-225-0292 ext.
7115,media@christopherreeve.org; Kevin McManemin, 1-800-225-0292 ext.
7123,media@christopherreeve.org
Web site: http://www.christopherreeve.org/ http://www.paralysis.org/
Source: PRNewswire
