Eric Gibson, and Juan Garibay, Reeve Foundation Ambassadors, and Regional coordinators talk about the two day train the trainer peer mentor training which took place in Jacksonville, FL.

“This past week we attended the two day "Train the Trainer" Peer Mentor training in Jacksonville, FL.  The purpose of this training is so that we will be able to train new peer mentors ourselves.  The first day of the meeting began with a breakfast, welcome, and introductions.  The mentors discussed various topics including how to be an effective peer mentor, ethics, values and peer support.Read More

It is not always easy to express the amount of respect, joy, love, or admiration you have for someone...especially someone you have never met, never will meet.

With this, I speak of Christopher Reeve. This Saturday, September 25, would have been his 59th birthday. I, as well as I hope many of you, will celebrate this day, not mourn it. Even after Christopher (and Dana) are no longer with us physically, there is no doubt they are here in other ways.

They are everywhere... How we can look at the impact of Christopher in the paralysis field, and not be moved is simply impossible.

So even though I am writing this birthday wish in honor of Christopher as someone who never knew him, I encourage you to read this letter from his oldest son, Matthew, someone who knew him quite well. Here's part of the letter:

Rather than allowing his injury to define him, my father redefined what was possible for people living with spinal cord injuries. And, with the generous help of caring friends like you, he energized an international search for treatments and cures for paralysis -- a search that, with your help, led to this remarkable breakthrough.

We are now closer than ever to realizing my father's dream of regained movement, recovered function, and new steps for individuals living with spinal cord injuries. And though he is not here to continue the journey with us, you and I keep his memory alive by carrying on the work he began. (Picture credit above: Ken Regan; Matthew, Christopher, and Alexandra 1996)


Read all of Matthew's letter here.

Happy Birthday Christopher. May we all celebrate your legacy!

Janelle

           Join our community.

I look up the definition of "power" and all the definitions I am finding don't really express the power of our Social Mediathon this past Tuesday. The theme of the first ever Reeve Foundation Social Mediathon was "The Power of We;" all of us coming together to empower the paralysis community to raise funds for our mission of "Today's Care. Tomorrow's Cure.

We raised over $4,000 and counting. But more than this tangible amount was the intangible evidence of everyone who supported us. This, to me, is "power."

So I thank everyone on behalf of the nearly 5.6 million Americans living with paralysis for their support, compassion, and selflessness to spread the message. (8-year-old Chase Ford, pictured, is walking again thanks to the Reeve Foundation's NeuroRecovery Network.)

My favorite quotation that we used in many of our posts was from Dana Reeve, "Giving back is the rent you pay for being on the planet." It is so simple, yet, well, powerful. While we are all on our Facebook and Twitter accounts several times daily, we gave back during the Social Mediathon to disperse our message into cyberspace, to donate, to support our work.

So one more time, I will say, thank you, because each and every one of you is ultimately THE POWER OF WE. YOU are part of this movement.

Janelle

PS: There's still time to donate. We are asking to donate $1 for every year you have been fortunate enough to walk. Whether it was $5 or $500, you are helping us to carry on Christopher and Dana's legacy.


           Join our community.

We are just days away from the Reeve Foundation's first ever social mediathon happening on Tuesday (September 20) beginning at 8am.

That's right, I'll say it again so you can mark your calendars:
REEVE FOUNDATION SOCIAL MEDIATHON
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20
8AM - 11:59 (EST) PM

Here's the plan people. Plain and simple. Via social media (mostly Twitter and Facebook) we are trying to raise awareness and donations for our mission of "Today's Care. Tomorrow's Cure." Sounds easy, right? It is, I promise. So now you're probably wondering, 'Well, that's easy enough, how can I help?' Great question!

1. First, click here: it outlines the social mediathon with all the basics you need to know.
2. Then, click here to donate ($1 for every year you've been walking) and help us kick this off!
3. Finally, be sure to post it on your own Facebook and Twitter pages, email your friends and family, spread the word!

THE POWER OF WE! That is what this is all about. Coming together via the power of cyberspace and the social media world. We are asking to let your fingers do the talking so that those living with paralysis may have the chance to start walking!

Are you in? Let's go!

Janelle
 

           Join our community.

On September 20, next Tuesday, the Reeve Foundation will be hosting their first ever Social Mediathon. We are letting your fingers do the talking so others may have the chance to start walking!

Via Facebook, Twitter, and all other forms of social media, this 16-hour event will consist of promoting our mission to raise funds for "Today's Care. Tomorrow's Cure." Messages posted and tweeted throughout the day will ask for donations to support the Reeve Foundation's efforts in honor of spinal cord injury awareness month.

The event, ongoing from 8 am to 11:59 pm EST is ultimately, the power of we.

Join us, our ambassadors (like Major League Soccer star Daniel Hernandez pictured at left,) friends (like Team Reeve athlete John Carson pictured at right,) and celebrities (stay tuned to find out who!) as we raise awareness among the social media crowd to the fact that we cannot support the research without donations and motivate social media followers to make a gift to help find cures.

We are asking people to give a dollar for every year that they have been walking.



We hope you'll join us!

Help get us started, donate now!

Janelle

           Join our community.

Legendary NFL coach Vince Lombardi once said, “It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.”

When Lombardi said this years ago, I don’t think he knew he was directly speaking to Rutgers University football player Eric LeGrand.

By now, we all know this story of Eric. One bad hit on the gridiron changed his life forever on October 16, 2010. One-quarter of an inch, one second slower, one play later… it all could have been different. We know the “what ifs.” But we can’t dwell on them… and neither does Eric.

Eric and his mom visited the Reeve Foundation’s Short Hills, NJ office on Tuesday. Like any other 20-something-year-old, Eric is just living his life. The only difference? Eric smiles more than anyone else I have ever met (above.) Some might wonder what he has to smile about. I think his mom, Karen, said it best. (Eric, Karen, and Reeve Foundation staff, Alan Brown, Maggie Goldberg, and President & CEO Peter Wilderotter pictured below.)

When I asked her about this journey they have been on and what happens next, she simply said: “Oh we’re still on it. The sky’s the limit.”

I introduced myself to Eric as the office’s “resident football fan” (and then my coworkers chuckled and said ‘Fins up!’) So naturally, Eric’s story hit me more than most spinal cord injury cases I hear about. I questioned if I would ever be able to watch football the same again. No question, I’m still as big a fan as ever (just ask my boss… I’m debating which Dolphins game to fly out to Miami for this season!)

So when it comes to the pigskin and the turf, I wondered how Eric felt now. I asked him, “What would you tell the football world now?” Admittedly, I was expecting his answer to be on the cautious side, but just like with his contagious smile, he surprised me and said, “Play hard. Every single play. You never know when it’s your last.”

Ever since I was six-years-old, my idol has always been the legendary Miami Dolphins quarterback, Dan Marino. I met Marino when I was 16-years-old, was completely star-struck, and could barely utter two words. Standing in front of him, it hit me like a ton of bricks.

With Eric, I got that same feeling. (Eric and I pictured at right.) Except it was when I went home Tuesday night and replayed the meeting in my head. I have been following Eric’s story for months but being able to just chat with him and his mom for a few minutes gave me a sense of what Christopher advocated for, “Nothing is impossible.”

So many people look up to Christopher and Dana. So many people now look up to Eric. So who does Eric look up to? Ray Lewis, linebacker of the Baltimore Ravens, and Terrell Davis, former running back of the Denver Broncos.

What do all of these people have in common? They are leaders. To quote Lombardi one more time, “Leadership is based on a spiritual quality --- the power to inspire, the power to inspire others to follow.”

Thank you Eric, Karen, and the entire paralysis community for being leaders. Let’s all join together and stand up for those who can’t!

Look for Eric on ESPN Thursday at 3:15 (EST) as he stops by to talk about rehab and life after his injury. (Update: Here is the link to Eric's ESPN appearance.)

Janelle

Share your thoughts on Eric.

More from CBS Sports.
 

           Join our community.

No two success stories are alike -- except for one thing. Most of the individuals living with paralysis and spinal cord injuries that I have spoken to have said that walking isn't always the first thing they want back.

Do you agree?

The Reeve Foundation wants to know: As a person living with paralysis, what one function would you most like to regain?

We have set up an easy poll with 11 choices from you to chose from -- everything from bowel and bladder functions to spasticity and sexual functions.

So let us know!

Take the poll now!

Janelle


           Join our community.

On Friday, Reeve Foundation Ambassador Daniel Hernandez visited our Short Hills, NJ office. Daniel, professional soccer star and captain of FC Dallas, couldn't be a better fit for our Ambassador program.

Having a personal connection to spinal cord injuries because of his brother Nico, who is living with a spinal cord injury from a 1998 auto accident, Daniel is genuine and passionate about spreading the Reeve Foundation's two-fold mission of Today's Care. Tomorrow's Cure.

Not only did Daniel want to learn the ins and outs of the Reeve Foundation more, but proudly waltzed around the office in a Team Reeve shirt! (Wait, sorry, Daniel isn't a dancer, he's a soccer star. Maybe I shouldn't say waltz!)

After having a tour of the office and being greeted by staff, Daniel spoke a few words about how honored he is to be part of the Foundation.

"...11 years later I finally got the opportunity to work with the Reeve Foundation. It was an amazing opportunity to find something dear to my heart and something my brother would be proud of, that he wants me to be involved with. I know different people with paralysis adjust to situations in different times. We didnt talk about it, but 11 years later the opportunity came to me. I spoke to him about it, and he was on board. Obviously, a great Foundation, something world known, like Reeve Foundation was something very special to me. I'm very proud to be part of it and here to help out any way I can."

On Saturday, Daniel and FC Dallas took on the New York Red Bulls, tieing 2-2. Daniel is pictured at left with Reeve Foundation President and CEO, Peter Wilderotter.

Thank you Daniel and to all our Ambassdors for spreading awareness of the Reeve Foundation!

GOALLLLL !!!

Janelle



           Join our community.

We received so much great feedback from our 2010 Best Dad on Wheels contest that we decided to do it all over again! From now through May 31 it is up to you to nominate a dad living with paralysis who is caring and loving, ambitious and motivating, and who simply a real-life everday role model.

Christopher Reeve said during a Keynote address at Brown University Parents’ Weekend in October 2011, “We cannot expect children to be replicas of us. From the minute they emerge from the womb they are already themselves. That must be honored, and they must given the tools and opportunities to go as far as they possibly can on their own.” The Reeve Foundation is looking for the “Best Dad on Wheels” who provides their children and communities with the “tools and opportunities” to grow.

Ten semi-finalists will be selected by a panel of judges based on the essay, photo, and optional video, submitted at ChristopherReeve.org/bestdad. (2010 semi-finalist Michael Porter pictured at right.) From June 6 through June 14, finalists will have their stories and photos featured on ChristopherReeve.org for the public to view and cast their votes. The winner will be announced on June 16 just in time to celebrate Father’s Day.

You can nominate the biological, adoptive, or foster father you know at ChristopherReeve.org/bestdad. The winning father will win bragging rights and a gift package compliments of vineyard vines.

Enter the dad you know for the 2011 Best Dad on Wheels Contest now!!!

Janelle

           Join our community.

The Reeve Foundation's Faces & Places Photo Contest was a success. We recieved all kinds of photos that show our community living life without limits.

Two of these photos are from Kristina Rhoades, Places winner, and Jerry Watkins, grand prize winner. (Their winning photos pictured at right and left).

I tend to get excited over the little things in life, so when I got to call Kristina and Jerry to congratulate them I was quite happy! Here's a little about each of them:

Kristina Rhoades is not like every other 27-year-old. She has been living with a T5, T6 spinal cord injury since she was 10-months-old, but hasn't let that stop her from being active. Kristina's photo shows just that when she decided to try rock climbing in Long Beach in August of 2010.

"My husband is an aspiring photographer and I've loved sports for as long as I can remember," says Kristina. "We pulled up and said, ‘I want to try this,'" explains Kristina. "They took one look at my arms and said, ‘I can see from your arms that you need to pull your own weight,' and I said ‘Okay!'"

Kristina describes reaching the top of the rock wall and ringing the bell as one of the coolest feelings ever.

Get to know Kristina.

Jerry Watkins, age 59, was determined to live his life to the fullest despite an automobile accident in November 2002. Living now with a T3 complete spinal cord injury from someone who hit his car from behind while talking on their cell phone, Jerry simply says, "Hey, I'm alive." He sure is.

Jerry went back to work the day after being discharged from the hospital following the accident.

"I have been working with the company for 32 years," says Jerry of his job in environmental health and safety for a chemical company in Atlanta, Georgia. "There is incredible support and encouragement for me. At first, everyone was falling over to help me. Now, they treat me just like everybody else. It just doesn't get any better than that."

He also took up a favorite pastime of his, umpiring.

Get to know Jerry.

Much congratulations to Kristina, Jerry, and all our finalists. THANK YOU to everyone who entered the contest as well. All the photos were unique and told stories of their own, so thank you for sharing your story!

Janelle

           Join our community.

We created the Making a Difference blog to share some of the stories we come across on a daily basis at the Foundation; everything from the calls that come through to our Information Specialists to what organizations are doing after receiving a Quality of Life Grant.

Here's a note that Team Reeve manager, Leigh, received from Team Reeve runner, Ned Norton (pictured) who was overwhelmed with gratitude for being able to be a part of Team Reeve.

Leigh:

I wanted to thank you for everything you did that made this such an awesome experience. You covered all the bases and made it real easy. It has been a crazy week. All the preperation and then the big day and I cannot believe it's all over.

Today, I looked at the clock remebering where I was last Sunday at this time and had fun reliving the coolest day ever.

I'm hoping you will keep me in mind for next year. I am already tweaking my fundraising and training stratgegies and if I get the opportunity, I will improve on both.

Ned Norton

More on Norton who ran for Team Reeve in last November's ING New York City Marathon. He raised over $4,000.00.

Read some more from the Making a Difference blog and be sure to keep checking back.

Janelle

           Join our community.

Have you entered your photos in the Reeve Foundation Faces and Places photo contest, yet? You have just four days left to enter your photos in either the travel or portrait categories. Please note, entrant must be living with paralysis.

Here's your chance to not only win bragging rights but to have a two-hour photography lesson with professional photographer, Christopher Voelker. Learn more about Christopher and his work on his website.

Judging for travel photos will be based on adherence to theme, originality, uniqueness of location, and 120 word or less caption about the photo and why it's important to you.

Judging for portrait photos will be based on adherence to theme, originality, photography skills, and 120 word or less caption about the photo and why it's important to you.

At right, is a portrait photo submitted by Melissa with the caption: This photo means a lot to me because it's off all my beautiful girls taken while we were on vacation, they're all looking at the camera, and Kaitlyn (who is a quadriplegic) has those eyes you could just swim in.

Enter your photos now! (And don't forget the caption!)

Janelle

           Join our community.

Making a difference today and every day is the theme of our new blog.

Here at the Reeve Foundation, we always share with each other all sorts of stories we share with the paralysis community. Team Reeve athletes share with us why they were motivated to participate in a event, Quality of Life grantees (members of LIFE of Mississippi pictured at right) come up to our booth at conferences just to say thanks for funding our program, and our information specialists help different families and individuals on a wide range of topics answering your calls every day.

In the online community, we are able to interact and read stories about the good and bad. You are very honest and open about living with paralysis, being a caregiver, or maybe just a friend or coworker of someone you know who has been affected.

The goal of our new blog, Making a Difference, is to share these remarkable stories of people in our community.

Have a look at what is already there and stay tuned as there is much more to follow.

Janelle

           Join our community.