Two grants totaling $940,717 from the US Department of Veterans Affairs are aimed at funding Disabled Sports USA (DSUSA)’s Warfighter Sports program and Adapt2Achieve training and education program.

The Department of Veterans Affairs Grants for Adaptive Sports Programs provides funding to organizations to increase and enhance the quantity and quality of adaptive sport activities for disabled Veterans and wounded, ill, or injured members of the Armed Forces in their home communities.

The first of these grants will provide free adaptive sports opportunities to severely disabled Veterans in more than 30 adaptive sports, including alpine skiing, Nordic skiing, snowboarding, sled hockey, swimming, cycling, golf, paddle sports, climbing, surfing and more. These activities will occur across the country through 27 DSUSA local chapters in 19 states, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.

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 potential impact of these programs will be to vastly improve access to adaptive sports for thousands of disabled Veterans and others with disabilities, explains a media release from Disabled Sports USA.

“Thanks to the Department Of Veterans Affairs, thousands of disabled Veterans have experienced the healing power of adaptive sports,” says Kirk Bauer, executive director of Disabled Sports USA and a disabled Vietnam Veteran, in the release. “This grant has helped disabled Veterans rebuild their lives through sports.”

VA Secretary Dr. David J. Shulkin concurs, adding, “Adaptive sports provides opportunities for Veterans, and empowers them to believe in themselves and let go of what others may see as limitations.”

[Source(s): Adaptive Sports USA, PRWeb]