The 12th Annual Kelly Brush Ride, held September 9 in Middlebury, Vt, attracted more than 800 cyclists and 40 adaptive athletes, who together raised more than $521,000 to help fund adaptive sports activities and prevent ski racing injuries.
The event was powered by VBT Bicycling and Walking Vacations and was made possible via the generosity of many participants, volunteers, and sponsors, per a media release from the Kelly Brush Foundation.
“This incredible level of support from participants, and those who supported them, will help us continue improving the lives of those with paralysis through sport and recreation and further our mission to prevent ski racing injuries,” says Zeke Davisson, executive director of the Kelly Brush Foundation, in the release.
“Last year we had nearly 200 requests for assistance purchasing adaptive gear and we expect that number to grow this year, as it has every year since we started the foundation more than a decade ago,” he adds.
To date, the release explains, funds raised from the event have contributed to the purchase of more than 475 pieces of adaptive sports equipment such as handcycles, sport wheelchairs, and monoskis to adaptive athletes in 47 states. In addition, the foundation has supported ski clubs and race organizations across the country in efforts to improve ski racing safety.
Kelly Brush, together with her family, started the foundation in 2006 after she sustained a severe spinal cord injury while racing in NCAA Division 1 competition as a member of the Middlebury College Ski Team in Vermont. The Kelly Brush Foundation affirms Kelly’s ongoing commitment to live life on her own terms and better the lives of others living with paralysis.
[Source(s): Kelly Brush Foundation, PRWeb]
