In light of the recent natural disasters in the United States and Puerto Rico, WebPT has launched the national Rehab Therapists Give Back campaign, as a way for the rehab therapy community to help support the families and clinics that were affected.
The aim of the campaign, launched in September during WebPT’s Ascend Summit, is to bring the rehab therapy community together to support a worthy cause and help raise $1 million by the end of February 2018.
Funds raised through Rehab Therapists Give Back will go toward disaster relief efforts for those impacted by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, as well as those affected by the wildfires in the Northwest, notes a media release from WebPT.
Dr Heidi Jannenga, PT, DPT, ATC/L, president and co-founder of WebPT, announced the campaign at Ascend, calling on those in the rehab community to join in helping families, providers and communities in need.
“As rehab therapists, we chose this profession out of a deep desire to help people, and now we have an opportunity to help our fellow therapists, colleagues, friends and families rebuild in this time of need,” says Jannenga, as part of the announcement.
“Through this campaign, we’re aiming to build a culture of ‘us’ in the rehab community, and we’ve already been blown away by the support. It truly speaks to the healer’s heart, an innate quality of physical, occupational and speech therapists.”
WebPT and the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) both committed to matching $10,000 in donations to kick-start the campaign, and two of Ascend’s most highly acclaimed speakers, Chris and Heidi Powell, also contributed. In total, more than $40,000 was raised at the Ascend event alone. Countless other supporters — from therapy clinics and corporations, as well as industry product vendors — are starting to join and rally behind this important mission with contributions of all sizes, the release states.
“APTA’s bold vision demands that the physical therapy community looks beyond the walls of our day-to-day work settings in order to transform society,” said Sharon L. Dunn, PT, PhD and APTA board president. “The Rehab Therapists Give Back campaign is a terrific example of the positive impact we can make when we work together in that spirit. I’m grateful to WebPT for organizing the campaign and to all those who generously donated to those in need.”
“We are proud to support the Rehab Therapists Give Back campaign and join in the effort to provide critical disaster relief aid to those in need,” the Powells say in a joint statement. “The rehab therapy community has been so welcoming of us and the TRANSFORM App we created to help patients achieve even better treatment outcomes, so it is our honor to continue paying it forward.”
[Source: WebPT]
