A recent donation made by Hanger Inc will establish its 2014-2015 Hanger Kids Scholarship to Camp No Limits, a nonprofit camp that allows children with limb loss or limb difference to receive education, mentorship, and support. Hanger Inc’s donation totals out to $100,000.
Vinit Asar, Hanger president and CEO, states in a company news release that during the past 10 years when Hanger employees have volunteered at the camp, “our employees have witnessed the incredible benefit this special camp provides for children with limb loss or limb difference and their families.”
Asar adds that camp founder Mary Leighton and her team “have developed a truly exceptional experience. We are delighted to support their efforts and are happy this scholarship will help even more children and their families get to camp.”
The donation will be distributed into 100 $1,000 scholarships, according to the release. Each award is intended to cover the cost of attendance, lodging, meals, and included activities for 100 kids with amputations or limb differences and an accompanying parent or guardian at any of the Camp No Limits camps available nationwide in 2014 and 2015.
Mary Leighton, OTR/L, Camp No Limits founder and director, says that within the first several days of camp, children who once hid their residual limbs wear shorts, compare prosthetic devices, ride bicycles for the first time, and enjoy life uninhibited.
“It’s the power and comfort of engaging with someone who is like you, who understands you,” Leighton explains. “We are so thankful Hanger values Camp No Limits and is supporting us with such a generous donation and scholarship offering,” she adds.
The release notes that the Camp No Limits board of directors is managing the 2014-2015 Hanger Kids Scholarship application and selection process.
Applications are available here or at www.hanger.com/CampNoLimits
Children with limb loss or limb difference who are under the age of 18 at the time of application are eligible for the Hanger Kids Scholarship. Preference will be given to first-time campers, the release says. However, all are encouraged to apply.
Deven Jackson of Shermans Dale, Pa, aged 10 years old, was the first recipient of the Hanger Kids Scholarship to Camp No Limits, the release reports. Jackson lost both legs below the knees in August 2012 as a result of meningococcal meningitis at the age of 8. Prior to his illness, Jackson led an active lifestyle, playing football, baseball, and soccer. Returning to this lifestyle is key to the child and his parents, the release states. As the first Hanger Kids Scholarship recipient, Jackson attended a Florida-based Camp No Limits camp in January 2014, where he achieved his goal of running for the first time since losing both legs.
Camp No Limits hosts nine annual camps nationwide for children with limb loss or limb difference to receive education, mentorship, and support. It is organized by medical professionals and adult amputee role models, and is designed to provide pediatric amputees and their families an experience that teaches children to push beyond their perceived physical, social, and emotional limitations.
[Source: Hanger Inc]