Access 2 Independence of the Eastern Iowa Corridor, Inc. is proud to announce that it has received a $4250 Quality of Life grant from the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation. The Reeve Foundation awarded $520,000 in Quality of Life grants to 75 non-profit organizations within the United States and Canada. Created by the late Dana Reeve in 1999, the Reeve Foundation’s Quality of Life Grants are awarded twice a year to non-profit organizations that provide services and programs to individuals living with paralysis. Close to 1,600 grants totaling nearly $13 million have been awarded to organizations since the program’s inception.
Access 2 Independence will use the grant to identify and empower rural Iowans and veterans with all disabilities in rural Iowa communities by sending a representative with a spinal cord injury to the Association of Programs for Rural Independent Living (APRIL) conference in October 2010 for advocacy training. Upon return, this new advocate will provide training and outreach in Southeast Iowa.
“We are honored to be able to improve the quality of life for Veterans living with spinal injuries in the Eastern Iowa Corridor,” said Scott R. Gill, Executive Director of Access 2 Independence. Project collaborator John D. Mikelson from the University of Iowa Veterans Center emphasizes, “Many returning veterans living in rural Iowa fail to get the help they need because they are often unaware of the benefits, services, and facilities available to them. Having a trained peer to advocate in Souteast Iowa will be a great help.”
“The Quality of Life program that Dana Reeve created eleven years ago is based on freedom,” said Peter T. Wilderotter, president and CEO of the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation. “We are happy to be able to support Access 2 Independence to create more independence, increase opportunities, and provide support for those living with paralysis along with their families and caregivers.”
The Reeve Foundation’s Quality of Life grants are divided into three categories, Actively Achieving, Bridging Barriers and Caring and Coping. Some grants are funded through a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Award #1U59DD000338), and are awarded to nonprofit organizations that address the needs of people living with paralysis caused by spinal cord and other injuries, diseases and birth conditions.
About the Reeve Foundation
The Christopher & Dana 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, and to review the entire list of Quality of Life grant recipients, please visit our website or call 800-225-0292.
