Penn State's Ability Athletics, a recreational program for people with disabilities, was awarded a Health Promotion Grant of $5,000 from the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation (CRPF) earlier this month.
The money bought a used van to provide transportation for the five athletes who participate in the program, said Teri Jordan-Lucas, disabilities recreation program coordinator.
"The van enables us to travel around campus with the athletes, which is particularly helpful to them when there is snow on the ground and they need to get to practice and also to travel to meets in the area, like at James Madison University and Harrisburg," she said. "It's fabulous to have it."
According to a CRPF press release, the foundation awards Health Promotion Grants twice a year to programs that help disabled people lead active, independent lives "by seeking to remove societal and environmental barriers that limit the abilities of individuals living with paralysis."
The press release also stated that CRPF has awarded $257,500 in Health Promotion Grants, ranging from $5,000 to $25,000, to 27 organizations so far this year. These grants, which were established in 2001 with the help of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are part of CRPF's Quality of Life program, started by Reeve's wife and CRPF Director Dana Reeve.
"They look for a program that does a lot of things for disabled people and is in need of money," Jordan-Lucas said. "We went from having one athlete to having five in the program."
The Ability Athletics program offers people with disabilities the chance to engage in swimming, weight training, track and field, tennis, basketball and fencing, which was added this year. All of the activities have competitions, but swimming and weight training are the only two offered recreationally, she said.
"The program is giving athletes with disabilities the chance to go places and do things," she said.
There are currently five athletes who participate in Penn State's program. Three of them -- Jeff Hantz, Maggie Redden and Meghan Sooy -- compete internationally and have a chance at making it to the Paralympics this year in Athens, Ga., she said.
Hantz (senior-computer science) said the program has been beneficial to him and has given him many great opportunities to travel and compete. Last year, he won two bronze medals in track and field events at the World Wheelchair Games in New Zealand. He added the grant is very helpful to the program.
"The program desperately needed a van. We need grants to have the program endowed so we won't have to beg for money from the university," he said. "We're very grateful for this grant."
This year's grant is the second Health Promotion Grant CRPF has given to Penn State. The first grant, awarded to the university in 2002, was for $10,000.
