A new grant from the WellPoint Foundation to Disabled Sports USA (DSUSA) is geared toward benefitting more than 400 wounded warriors and youth with disabilities. The $200,000 grant is intended to support DSUSA’s military sports rehabilitation program, Warfighter Sports, which offers year-round sports programs free of cost to injured service members and their families. The programs feature individualized adaptive instruction and offer additional adaptive sports opportunities for youth with disabilities.
Kirk Bauer, executive director of DSUSA, disabled Vietnam veteran, articulates the organization’s excitement in receiving the grant. “In partnership with our local chapters nationwide, DSUSA will continue to provide rehabilitation through sports to our wounded warriors and youth,” Bauer says.
Bill Smith, president, general manager of WellPoint’s Disability and Life Business, echoes Bauer’s statement, emphasizing that becoming disabled should not prohibit an individual from enjoying a full, active life encompassing sports and other activities. “We believe providing funds to support sports rehabilitation programs such as those offered by the DSUSA is the right thing to do to aid those individuals who have given so much to this country, as well as help the youth gain access to programs that will help them live healthy and active lives,” Smith adds.
A recent news release notes that the grant funds will assist DSUSA and its chapters nationwide, including communities in California, Connecticut, Colorado, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, and Virginia, in addition to military medical centers in Maryland, Texas, and California.
“It is an honor to work with DSUSA to help these heroes recover and return to enjoying the fun and health benefits of sports with their families,” Lance Chrisman, director of the WellPoint Foundation, says.
[Source: WellPoint Foundation]
