CHRISTOPHER REEVE FOUNDATION AWARDS $100,000 IN GRANTS
FOR HURRICANE KATRINA RELIEF EFFORTS

Grants Aid Nonprofit Organizations Providing Essential Services
To People Living with Paralysis

SHORT HILLS, N.J. – October 25, 2005 – The Christopher Reeve Foundation (CRF) announced today that it has awarded $100,000 in Quality of Life grants to five nonprofit organizations to support the direct emergency relief services they provide to people with disabilities displaced by Hurricane Katrina. 

“Hurricane Katrina was devastating, but volunteers and nonprofit organizations across the country made the well-being of people with disabilities a priority,” said Kathy Lewis, president and CEO of the Christopher Reeve Foundation.  “The five organizations that will receive these emergency Quality of Life grants provide essential services for people living with disabilities, particularly paralysis, during a time when they need it most.”

The grant recipients are:

• Families Helping Families of Northeast Louisiana, ($25,000), to furnish basic necessities not covered by state and federal agencies to disabled evacuees in northeast Louisiana.
• United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Houston ($25,000), to provide durable medical equipment, medication and support to special-needs individuals displaced to the greater Houston area.
• Center for Independent Living of Northwest Florida, ($25,000), to fund the replacement of durable medical equipment and/or supply items to people with disabilities who sought refuge in northwest Florida.
• Portlight Strategies, ($15,000), to coordinate, ship and donate essential durable medical equipment and supplies to people with disabilities in hurricane-damaged areas.  Teams of volunteers will also do minor clean-up, ramp repair and other needed repairs so that families can safely return home.
• Alabama Head Injury Foundation, ($10,000), to supply funding for disability-related equipment, supplies, technology and personal care/assistive services to people with brain injury and/or spinal cord injury in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.

“The Quality of Life grants program embodies Christopher’s spirit and Dana’s vision to make a difference in the lives of people with disabilities, and we are proud to see that same inspiration ‘Go Forward’ in these organizations,” Lewis concluded.

The CRF Quality of Life grants recognize the unique and numerous needs of people living with disabilities, primarily paralysis, and their families, and the importance of providing services and programs that enable them to participate in all areas of life.  Since 1999, CRF has provided 847 Quality of Life grants totaling over $7.5 million to organizations nationwide that help improve opportunities, access and day-to-day quality of life for these individuals and their families.

The Christopher Reeve Foundation is dedicated to finding treatments and cures for spinal cord injury by funding innovative research, and improving the lives of people living with paralysis through grants, information and advocacy. For more information, please visit www.ChristopherReeve.org or call 800-225-0292.

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Contact
Maggie Goldberg
Christopher Reeve Foundation
800-225-0292
media@ChristopherReeve.org

Jamie Morgan
MWW Group
201-964-2380
jmorgan@mww.com