Executive Director Update: My First Month!

I just hit my one-month mark at the Kelly Brush Foundation (KBF). It’s hard to believe, but it’s better than I could have imagined. Working with Kelly and the rest of the team is wonderful. There is immeasurable collective passion for our mission to inspire and empower people living with spinal cord injuries to live active and engaged lives. 

One of the things that makes the KBF unique is its singular focus on the SCI community. The road from injury to independence after a SCI can be daunting, isolating and long. At the KBF, we are intimately familiar with that journey — and how challenging it can be. We are committed to supporting people every step of the way. Not only do we want to improve quality of life, we want to make it joyful. To date, the KBF has helped over 1,000 people gain permanent access to prohibitively expensive adaptive sports and recreational equipment through the Active Fund. The impact is profound.

As we think about the future, we want to expand our programming so we are poised to support the nearly-18,000 thousand people in the U.S. who are injured each year, in addition to the 300,000 people who are already living with spinal cord injuries. Near-term, we want to connect with people earlier on their road to independence by providing educational opportunities through our partners; by offering camps and clinics to people post-rehab so they can get first-hand experience trying different sports; and we want to provide a range of other experiences to get people active and connecting with peers. At the KBF, we know this is true: Life is better active. 

Apart from the obvious health benefits, there are other reasons to get out and go. One of the most powerful is connecting with peers. The period after returning home from rehab can be one of the most confusing, isolating and potentially depressing times. Connecting with others who are going through — or who have gone through — similar circumstances is comforting, empowering and motivating. 

We are excited to introduce the Active Project, our new platform for connecting with others, sharing information, and learning about adaptive sports and recreation. Built by and for people with SCI, the Active Project is the first attempt to bring all the available information about being active with a SCI together into one website and enable real-life connections. We hope to continue to grow the KBF family and bring people together through sports and recreation. Click here to learn more about the Active Project.