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U.S.EWHA
PowerHockey News Release: August 24, 2001
Contact:
U.S. ELECTRIC WHEELCHAIR
HOCKEY ASSOCIATION
7216 39TH AVE. N.
Minneapolis, MN 55427
Tel: 763.535.4736
Fax: 208.279.1368
Web Site: www.powerhockey.com
Email: info@powerhockey.com
For Immediate Release
MINNESOTA ORGANIZATION NAMED RECIPIENT OF CHRISTOPHER REEVE
PARALYSIS FOUNDATION HEALTH PROMOTION GRANT.
MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota [August 29, 2002] - The Christopher Reeve
Paralysis Foundation (CRPF) announced today that the U.S. Electric
Wheelchair Hockey Association (U.S. EWHA) has been awarded a $10,000
Health Promotion Grant. CRPF awarded $257,500 in Health Promotion
Grants to 27 organizations nationwide that improve opportunities,
access and day-to-day quality of life for families and individuals
living with disabilities. The grants, awarded twice yearly, recognize
programs that enable people with disabilities to live independent
and active lives by seeking to remove societal and environmental
barriers that limit the abilities of individuals living with paralysis.
"The Health Promotion arm of the Quality of Life program fulfills
an enormous need for those living with disabilities to live life
free of obstacles," said Dana Reeve, CRPF Director and Chair
of the Quality of Life committee. "The advent of the Quality
of Life program was to provide an opportunity for those living with
paralysis to improve the quality of their daily lives." The
Health Promotion awards were funded through the Christopher and
Dana Reeve Paralysis Resource Center, made possible by a grant (Grant
No. U10/CCU220379-01) that CRPF received from the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention in the fall of 2001.
The U.S. EWHA will use this grant to further develop its PowerHockey
program around the state of Minnesota, and on a national level.
As an organization, the U.S. EWHA has set an important goal of using
this grant to promote PowerHockey more directly to those persons
who have suffered spinal cord injuries, and making available to
them an athletic opportunity. By promoting PowerHockey over the
next year or two with the funds from this grant the hope is to develop
more leagues/programs around the country. CRPF is awarding 25 additional
grants ranging from $5,000 to $25,000. (For a complete list of grant
recipients, please visit www.christopherreeve.org/qlgrants/qlgrantsmain.cfm)
(MORE)
"This Health Promotion grant will enable us to continue developing
PowerHockey around the country," said Craig McClellan, U.S.
EWHA President and Co-Founder. "We are working with people
and organizations in areas such as Chicago, St. Louis, Atlanta,
North Carolina, and California and this grant will enable us to
develop PowerHockey in these areas and beyond. We are grateful for
the commitment that the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation has
made to the disabled community through the Quality of Life and Health
Promotion grants program."
The Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation (CRPF) is committed
to funding research that develops treatments and cures for paralysis
caused by spinal cord injury and other central nervous system disorders.
The Foundation also vigorously works to improve the quality of life
for people living with disabilities through its grants program,
paralysis resource center, and advocacy efforts.
The U.S. EWHA is a Minnesota-based non-profit organization dedicated
to providing a quality hockey program for persons requiring the
use of an electric (power) wheelchair during daily life. The U.S.
EWHA was founded by members of Minnesota's first organized PowerHockey™
team. After traveling to tournaments in Germany (1993) and Canada
(1995), it became clear to these team members that for the sport
to grow in the US, they would need to develop an organization. Today,
a few short years later, the U.S. EWHA is the national governing
body of the sport and works with many organizations around the world
developing the future of PowerHockey . In August 2001, the U.S.
EWHA hosted the most ambitious wheelchair hockey tournament in history,
becoming the first wheelchair hockey tournament to have teams representing
Australia, Europe, Canada and the US all at one event.
PowerHockey™ is a sport specifically designed for electric
(power) wheelchair users. This segment of the disabled community
is very under-served when it comes to available athletic opportunities.
The Special Olympics and Paralympic programs do not serve these
athletes. The potential market for PowerHockey™ is the same
if not greater than those very successful national/international
programs, quite possibly making it the world's next big disabled
sports movement.
For more information about the U.S. EWHA visit the website: www.powerhockey.com.
To obtain a quote from a U.S. EWHA representative, call (763) 535-4736.
For more information about the CRPF Health Promotion grant or the
grant application process, please contact the Quality of Life department
at (973) 467-8270, ext. 205 or visit the website at www.ChristopherReeve.org
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