Approximately $15 million in grants are available for community organizations that provide adaptive sports, including therapeutic recreational opportunities for disabled Veterans and disabled members of the armed forces, the US Department of Veterans Affairs announces.
VA awards grants to qualifying organizations to plan, develop, manage and implement programs serving Veterans.
“Grants help our nation’s Veterans by increasing and expanding the quantity and quality of adaptive sports opportunities at community organizations across the country,” says VA Secretary Robert Wilkie, in a media release. “The independence, challenge and enjoyment of sports and recreation play a critical role in their successful rehabilitation and can improve their health and well-being.”
Online applications for community organizations are now open, and the deadline for applications to be submitted is May 14. VA will make award decisions this fall based on a competitive selection.
For more information about how to apply, including details of the Notice of Funding Availability, visit VA Adaptive Sports Grant Program.
In fiscal year 2019, VA awarded approximately $9 million in Adaptive Sports Program grants to 103 organizations, estimated to serve more than 10,000 Veterans throughout all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
Among these awards were two grants totaling $825,826 to Disabled Sports USA (DSUSA), according to a separate news release.
The first of these grants aims to provide free adaptive sports opportunities to severely disabled Veterans in 36 adaptive sports taking place in 21 states, including alpine skiing, archery, snowboarding, tennis, sled hockey, cycling, golf, paddle sports, climbing, sailing, curling, triathlon, martial arts, and more.
The second VA grant to DSUSA will elevate the quality and availability of adaptive sports programs across the US through training for VA and Military therapists as well as instructors, coaches and volunteers. Programs include hands-on adaptive sports specific training, teaching employable skills to disabled Veterans and working with sports governing bodies to educate club coaches around the country, the release explains.
“Thanks to the Department Of Veterans Affairs, thousands of disabled Veterans have experienced the power of adaptive sports,” says Glenn Merry, executive director of Disabled Sports USA, in the release. “This grant has helped disabled Veterans rebuild their lives through sports.”
[Source(s): US Department of Veterans Affairs, Disabled Sports USA, PRWeb]
