Welcome to The Colorado Chapter

OUR PURPOSE

• Organize fundraising events
• Educate and advocate in our community about spinal cord injury and Reeve Foundation Research and Quality of Life programs
• Build relationships with our Quality of Life recipient organizations
• Inspire others to become involved

UPCOMING EVENTS

Kick-off meeting of
the Colorado chapter.

• Thank you for attending the First Annual Summer Solstice Appetizer Challenge -- Get the recipes here. See photos here.
• July 19 - July 27 - Sadler's Alaska Challenge Local Denver Paralympics athlete Matt Updike competed against 38 top athletes from around the globe in the longest and most challenging hand cycle race in the world – Sadler's Alaska Challenge (read updated from the course) to raise money for the Foundation. Help Matt reach his $10,000 goal.
  
• October 18 - Denver Marathon. (Find out more about volunteering or running.)

WAYS TO GET INVOLVED

• Fill out our volunteer information form, and we will be in touch with you shortly.
• Donate now to the Colorado chapter.
• Be counted! represent Colorado on the Campaign to Cure Paralysis Google map.
• Organize a fundraising event to support the Campaign to Cure Paralysis.

TEAM REEVE DENVER

The Colorado Chapter is excited to have Team Reeve members participate in the Denver Marathon on October 18th.

Or, compete as a Team Reeve All Stars, and participate in any range of athletic events on behalf of the Foundation's Colorado Chapter. Enter any event from mountain biking to downhill skiing, solo or with friends. Whatever you choose to do we’ll be with you every step of the way.

Find out more about Team Reeve and apply for a spot, go to the Team Reeve Center. Questions? Email TeamReeve@ChristopherReeve.org or call Team Reeve Manager, Leigh Beachem at 800-225-0292.

ABOUT THE STEERING COMMITTEE

Based in Denver, the Colorado Chapter is spearheaded by a steering committee.  Members include:

Chris Hinds - I bring technology and personal experience to the Colorado chapter. As a former business owner of a web design company, I have architected and developed web solutions for companies and bring that knowledge to the chapter. Also, since I am a recent paraplegic due to a motorcycle accident in August 2008, I can bring personal, tangible experiences to those who want to learn. Now there’s no need to experience it yourself; I will happily share with you whatever you might want to know about my spinal cord injury.

Kathryn Murray - Kathryn’s life was touched at a very early age by spinal cord injury when her neighbor and older brother’s close friend, Henry Stifel, was paralyzed in a car accident. Kathryn watched in awe as the Stifel family helped to change the face of research and progress in the field of spinal card research.  When given the chance to work with Henry’s sister and long time family friend with Amy to help spearhead the Colorado chapter of The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, Kathryn jumped on the opportunity.

Amy Quinn - Twenty-seven years ago, it was always clear -- my family would support medical research to find a cure. Why couldn’t my brother walk again? We would not accept Henry’s dismal prognosis in 1982 and nor will we today. In 1982, after my brother’s accident, my parents started the Stifel Paralysis Foundation which became the American Paralysis Association (APA). The APA joined forces with Christopher Reeve Foundation in 1999. Yes, I’ve felt impatient for a cure. Twenty seven years is a long time to wait. But, taking action to support medical research has providedhope in addition to real results.

The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation funds the best cure research available, in addition to care and coping programs that enhance life for spinal cord injured. With my amazing brother for inspiration and, unfortunately, countless others, how can I stop now?  I’m thrilled to be working with many talented individuals in the Denver community and all around Colorado on developing a local chapter. Our group is committed to raising awareness, money for research and connecting ourselves with those that need support and inspiration. With a lifting of the ban on stem cell lines, the future is brighter than it’s been in a long time. Please join us in accelerating the research forward.

Matt Updike - In September of 1997, at 26 years old, I was in an automobile accident that left me paralyzed from the chest down.  I was a very active guy at the time that had moved out west a couple of years before the accident from Upstate New York to play in the mountains. An avid skier, mountaineer and cyclist prior to the accident I’ve continued to do many of these things albeit in a different fashion. Since that life changing moment, I’ve focused on what I can do and made the most of life. Cycling, more specifically handcycling, has became my true calling.  I began racing in 2000, quickly improved and made the US Paralympic Cycling Team in 2002. 

Most recently, I competed at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, China. Besides training and racing I also have a full-time job where I reside in Denver, CO as a loan officer for a residential mortgage bank. When I found out a Colorado Chapter of the Reeve Foundation was going to be started, I was honored and excited to be asked to be involved.  Reeve’s success in raising money for spinal research, quality of life and public awareness for people with spinal cord injuries has been huge and I am looking forward to doing my part here in Colorado.

Julie Leigh Wieseler - My name is Julie Wieseler and I am a neuroscientist at the University of Colorado at Boulder. My research focus is chronic pain, and the cells in the brain and spinal cord responsible for the pain. Chronic pain associated with spinal cord injury became the focus of my research in 2006 when my brother sustained a spinal cord injury while body surfing in Hawaii, leaving him paralyzed from the shoulders down. As a scientist, the field of spinal cord injury research is fascinating, with new information constantly becoming available. At a personal level, the field of spinal cord injury research offers an immense amount of hope and promise for my brother living with a spinal cord injury. I am very grateful for the commitment The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation has towards supporting cutting edge research.

Also on the steering committee are Clare Dineen, and Sally Harvey, Phil Odell, Mark Robertson.

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SUPPORT OF COLORADO SCI RESEARCH AND QUALITY OF LIFE RECIPIENTS

Individual Research Grants - Since 1987, the Reeve Foundation has awarded a total of 11 Individual Research Grants totaling $548,797 to scientists in Colorado, at Colorado State University in Fort Collins and Colorado University School of Medicine in Denver. The most recent such supported the postdoctoral research of a scientist studying axon growth. Find out more about the Reeve Foundation Individual Research Grants program.

Quality of Life Grants - The Reeve Foundation has supported 36 non-profit organizations across Colorado through our Quality of Life Grants program.  Reeve Foundation Quality of Life grants to Colorado organizations have totaled nearly $300,000 during the past ten years. Find out more about the Reeve Foundation Quality of Life porogram. 

Recent examples of Quality of Life grants awarded to Colorado organizations:

• Telluride Adaptive Sports Program, Teluride, CO; $6,200 - To purchase of a Tessier Kart-Ski, a newer piece of adaptive ski equipment designed for people who do not have the ability to maintain balance and control required for other adaptive skis.
• United States Association for Blind Athletes, Colorado Springs, CO; $7,575 - To support the 2008 Developmental Disabled Rider Cycling Camp, which expands sports opportunities, specifically cycling, for disabled riders who are blind and visually impaired, cyclists who race on tandem bikes with a sighted partner, wheelchair cyclists with lower mobility impairments who ride hand-cycles, cyclists with cerebral palsy or head injury who use both standard bikes and tricycles, and amputee-cyclists who ride single bikes. 

Search for a resource in your town related to paralysis, spinal cord injury, and disabilities.

Paralysis Resource Center - The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation Paralysis Resource Center (PRC) promotes the health and well-being of people living with a spinal cord injury, mobility impairment and paralysis by providing comprehensive information, resources and referral services.  This single source of comprehensive, compassionate support delivers help and resources in a range of languages over the phone, online, through free materials, and through streaming videos.

The PRC has services nearly 22,000 inquiries during the past six years, with almost 300 inquiries from individuals in Colorado needing information and support.