Travis Roy Foundation Home Page
June 2, 2008

 

 

TRAVIS ROY FOUNDATION DISTRIBUTES

QUARTERLY INDIVIDUAL GRANTS

 

Foundation Distributes 21 Grants Totaling More Than $100,000

 

BOSTON, MA – The Travis Roy Foundation today announced that it has distributed more than $100,000 in individual grants to spinal cord injury survivors. The announcement was made by Travis Roy, Travis Roy Foundation Founder and Trustee. A Boston-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit, the Travis Roy Foundation distributes grants on a quarterly basis to spinal cord injury survivors in financial need and to research facilities investigating potential cures for spinal cord paralysis. An announcement regarding research grants will be made at a later time.

 

Individual grant funds are awarded to modify vans and to purchase wheelchairs, computers, ramps, shower chairs, and other adaptive equipment to help paraplegics and quadriplegics live their lives. Recipients received grants this quarter for items including wheelchairs, ceiling and vehicle lifts, vehicle hand controls, ramps, exercise equipment, and voice-activated computers.

 

“The Travis Roy Foundation is in a unique position in that we are able to directly, and profoundly, effect the lives on people living with spinal cord paralysis,” Travis Roy, Founder and Trustee of the Travis Roy Foundation, said. “The grants distributed this quarter will enable 21 people greater freedom to live their lives and will take at least some pressure, financial and otherwise, off their families. I wish we had unlimited resources and could help everyone, but I am thrilled that we are able to help these 21 families at this time.”

 

Recipients this quarter included applicants from Maine to California:

 

Robert S., 52, MA – C7 quadriplegic. Injured in a car accident this past December, Robert was ready to be released from the hospital in March but had no access to his home. Robert requested funds to build a 35’ ramp from the driveway to a raised side entrance to the home.

 

Michael C., 27, ME – C-5 quadriplegic. Mike was injured a year ago in a skiing accident while living in Utah where he was an engineer for a chairlift and gondola manufacturer. A noted outdoorsman who enjoyed mountain biking, rock climbing, fly-fishing, camping and skiing, he is confident that researchers are zeroing in on a cure and plans to be ready for the day that it comes. He requested an “Easy Stand” standing frame (value $3,250) to help keep his body in shape.

 

Jennifer N., 37, MA – T-12 paraplegic. Injured in a bike accident in 1999, Jennifer is a single mother of a 16-year-old daughter. She requested a hand cycle (value $2,700) so that she can be active and join friends when they jog the beach road or cranberry bog.

 

Paul R., 58, NJ – C5-6 quadriplegic. A former high school teacher, Paul stopped on his way to work to bring water and soda to construction workers who were building his new house and fell through an unrailed, open staircase. The married father of two children in college and one in middle school, Paul’s wife is his sole full-time caregiver. She finds lifting and moving Paul, who weighs more than 200 lbs., difficult. Paul requested a ceiling lift (value $7,500) to aid his wife in getting him in and out of bed. 

 

Mark H., 47, IA – C6-7 quadriplegic. Injured in a diving accident in 1983, Mark requested a “Glide-n-Transfer” (value $5,700) to enable him to get into his truck without assistance.  Prior to receiving a Travis Roy Foundation grant, his family had rigged up something with a rope to get him in and out of his truck.

 

Joseph M., 25, WI – C4-5 quadriplegic. Injured in a diving accident last summer, the former construction worker and volunteer firefighter returned to school through scholarship and grants. His current wheelchair has caused tendonitis and damage to his shoulders, and Joseph requested an “E-Motion” wheelchair (value $7,000) that would make mobility easier.

 

John M., 21, CO – C4-5 quadriplegic. Injured in a snowboarding accident as a high school senior, John currently lives with his father in a bi-level home. He is currently in a manual wheelchair while waiting for a power wheelchair and his father must pull the chair up seven stairs to get his bedroom on the 2nd level. This will be impossible once a power chair becomes available, and John requested a grant for an outside lift (value $5,000) that will allow him to access this level from a deck located 5 1/2 feet off the ground. 

 

Brian S., 46, IL – C5 quadriplegic. Brian broke his neck in a football accident the day after Christmas when he was 17. Despite this, he completed high school and then went on to graduate from college in 4 years and was an active participant in wheelchair athletics and a coach of basketball and football. Married at 27, he and his wife have three children. With such an active lifestyle, an accessible van is a necessity. He requested funds to help convert a recently purchased van and was granted $6,000 for this purpose.

 

John B., 30, GA – T10-11 paraplegic. While visiting his parents during the summer of 2006, John was thrown out of a 2nd story window by an intruder who had broken into his parents’ home. His spinal cord was severed when he was impaled on a picket fence below. During rehab, John regained upper body strength but was unable to continue due to lack of transportation and has lost much of what he gained. He requested a grant for an upper body exercise machine ($3,900) so that he can continue his rehabilitation at home.

 

Robert S., 45, GA – C3-7 quadriplegic. Injured in a diving accident in 1983, Robert lives in a rural area where it is very difficult to maneuver his current wheelchair outside. A $7,000 grant from the Travis Roy Foundation will supplement an earlier $3,000 grant from another agency to allow Robert to purchase an all-terrain wheelchair more appropriate for his location.

 

Karen D., 32, NC – C-7 quadriplegic. Injured in a car accident in 1988, Karen has been diligently working to arrange the $17,000 - $20,000 funding necessary to modify her van. The $7,000 granted by the Travis Roy Foundation is the final piece she needs to complete the lift conversion.

 

Peter W., 38, IL – C-6 quadriplegic. Injured in a car accident in 2000, and with only a handful of friends and family located in his rural area, Peter requested repairs ($850) to existing lift controls on his van.

 

John G., 64, MI – T-8 paraplegic. John was injured in a fall from a roof in November, and his wife is about to have back surgery. He requested a shower commode (value $1,480).

 

Richard G., 39, SC – C5-7 quadriplegic. Richard, who currently resides in a nursing home, is confined to his room and bed as a lightweight manual wheelchair is not an option for him and Medicare/Medicaid will not contribute to a power chair if one is in a nursing home. He requested funds towards a power-tilt wheelchair; a $6,000 grant from the Travis Roy Foundation will be combined with other funds towards the purchase of the $16,000 wheelchair.

 

Josie M., 27, KS – C6-7 quadriplegic. Injured in a car accident at the age of 17, Josie works as a special education teacher, a job that requires a lot driving. She is in the process of purchasing a van and requested a grant for an “E-Z Lock Steering System with Backup” (value $6,700), which will allow her to drive the vehicle while seated in her wheelchair.

 

Darren K., 21, PA – T-9 paraplegic. Injured a year ago, Darren’s family purchased a small car for him, which will be outfitted with hand controls (value $980) to allow this 21-year-old the freedom to regain his freedom and independence.

 

Robert B., 22, MD – C4-5 quadriplegic. Injured four days after Christmas of 2006, the local community is currently helping the Bellon family raise funds to purchase an accessible van for Robert. The 22-year-old requested a grant for a wheelchair (value $5,000) so that he can resume classes at the University of Maryland in the fall.

 

Timothy P., 26, NC – C-5 quadriplegic. Injured in a car accident in 2005, Timothy is a full-time student who travels 60 miles to class each day. With some use of his arms and hands, he requested a manual wheelchair with a Wijit system (value $4,000), a driving and braking device attached to a manual wheelchair that helps to improve health while amplifying pushing power from a comfortable, stable, upright position.

 

Pamela H., 59, IL – C6-7 quadriplegic. A retired state worker, Pamela was injured in 1967 when she was just 18 years old. Currently looking to purchase a new power wheelchair, she requested a grant to cover the 20% not covered by Medicare and was granted $4,000 by the Travis Roy Foundation.

 

An N., 31, CA – C4-5 quadriplegic. Injured on Christmas Eve in 1987, An’s family purchased a van for her but was unable to afford the $21,000 necessary to make it accessible. A grant of $5,000 will supplement grants from two other foundations to finance the conversion.

 

Matthew B., 46, MI – C4 quadriplegic. Injured in 2001 and currently living in a MI nursing home, Matthew requested a voice-activated computer (value $2,100) to replace an older computer that is no longer working.

 

 

TRAVIS ROY FOUNDATION: Founded in 1997, the Travis Roy Foundation distributes grants to spinal cord injury survivors in financial need and to research projects and rehabilitation institutions across North America. The Travis Roy Foundation is uniquely positioned to touch individual lives with its focus on providing adaptive equipment and sponsoring research. In the US alone, there are approximately 250,000 people currently living with a spinal cord injury and 13,000 new injuries each year. The Travis Roy Foundation could help many more deserving applicants if funds were available. To make a donation to the Travis Roy Foundation or to learn more about applying for a Travis Roy Foundation grant, please visit our web site at www.travisroyfoundation.org.

 

 

 

 

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