Kelly Brush Foundation Awards $100K Support For Ski Racing Safety and Adaptive Sports

BURLINGTON, Vt., Jan. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Kelly Brush Foundation awarded $100,514 in grants for spinal cord injury prevention at the end of 2011 enriching the lives of those with spinal cord injuries and furthering the foundation's mission to improve ski racing safety, Kelly Brush Foundation President Charlie Brush announced.

The foundation granted $53,442 in Ski Racing Safety Grants to ski clubs and teams across the country. In addition, the Kelly Brush Individual Grant Program awarded $47,072 for adaptive athletic equipment.

Fifteen organizations received Ski Racing Safety Grants for safety equipment ranging from $500 to Monroe County Special Olympics, in Michigan, to replace helmets to $12,500 to the United States Ski and Snowboard Association, Central Region, in Minnesota, for safety netting to bring the region up to full netting on all courses.

"Raising the bar for ski racing safety is part of the Kelly Brush Foundation's core mission. This round of Ski Racing Safety Grants supports clubs and race teams from Maine to Idaho in their efforts to make the safety of their athletes a priority and to change the paradigm for both ski racing and training," Brush said.

The foundation also announced 13 Kelly Brush Individual Grants for adaptive athletic equipment. Individuals from across the United States who are living with SCI received financial assistance with purchasing equipment including monoskis and handcycles.

The Kelly Brush Foundation annual grants are supported by the foundation's primary fund-raising event, the Kelly Brush Century Ride, held annually in September in Middlebury, Vt. This past September, 24 handcyclists and 721 cyclists rode, raising more than $275,000 in support of the foundation's programs.  

About the foundation: The Kelly Brush Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving ski racing safety, enhancing the quality of life for those with spinal cord injury (SCI) through providing adaptive sports equipment, advancing scientific research on SCI and supporting the U.S. Adaptive Ski Team.  Kelly Brush, together with her family, started the foundation in 2006 after she sustained a severe spinal cord injury while racing in NCAA Div. 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 SCI. www.kellybrushfoundation.org

SOURCE Kelly Brush Foundation