United Spinal Association, New Award, New Prizes

 

United Spinal Newsletter | April 2024 View this email in your browser   New Awards, New Prizes: Nominations Open for StrongWheeled Together Awards Plus: Giving Week Preview   The StrongWheeled Together Awards are back! We are returning to Las Vegas in October with a new look and new prizes. Nominate yourself or someone you know by April 19th.   Let’s talk prizes. Thanks to our generous sponsors, we are giving away a Permobil wheelchair and two Restorative Therapies RT300s to our awardees, among other fabulous prizes.   Award categories this year are Community Builder (advocacy, activism, and community development), Community Visionary (technology, science, and entrepreneurship), and Community Voice (the arts). Nominations are exclusively open to wheelchair users. United Spinal will cover flight and lodging expenses for each awardee and a caregiver for the duration of the StrongWheeled Together Conference. Intrigued? Think you have what it takes? Want to encourage a friend to take the plunge? Learn all about the 2024 Awards. We encourage all members of our community to spread the word widely among your networks. Every year, the SWT Awards reward us by teaching us something new about our community and our collective accomplishments. Help us build the best awards yet.     Introducing Giving Week, April 14-20: A Festival of Philanthropy Early Donors Entitled to Special Rewards Our work touches every aspect of life with a mobility disability: Access to healthcare and best-in-class rehab. Affordable wheelchairs. Fair housing and equitable workplaces. Integrated public transit. Technology that works for wheelchair users. Inclusive community. United Spinal fights on every front—and we’ve kept it up for over 75 years.   We fight for you. And we can’t do it without your support. We are launching our first-ever Giving Week on April 14th—and we are appealing to everyone who considers themselves part of our cause to lend us their support.   Every contribution helps keep us in the fight. There are many ways to give, including breaking up your tax-deductible contribution into a monthly pledge. Our struggle for progress is being fought on new fronts. Autonomous vehicles. Smart technology. Broadband for all. Then, there are new fights on old terrain. We have made huge breakthroughs in the right to safe and equitable air travel—and are getting ready for the final push. Please consider making an early gift today. Gifts of any amount will help us reach—and exceed—our goal of $50,000 and keep us on the vanguard of disability rights. Our first 25 donors will receive United Spinal swag. Thank you for your support for United Spinal and our mission. Let’s keep making history together.     New Biweekly Discussion Group! Introducing Active Project Live Join us for Active Project Live, a vibrant and inclusive discussion group focused on adaptive sports and recreational activities. Hosted by the Kelly Brush Foundation in collaboration with United Spinal Association, adaptive sports enthusiasts will engage in discussions about recreational activities every other Tuesday at 5:30pm EDT. Learn more and register here.     ADVOCACY     Urgent Action on Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems Ask your Congressional representative to sign on to a letter requesting increased funding by April 8 For over 50 years, the Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems program has been a comprehensive, multidisciplinary system of care, research, and resources for people with SCI. Federal funding has not kept pace with the SCI community’s needs. Let’s change that. United Spinal is asking Congress to support increasing funding for SCI Model Systems. Learn more and take action here:   Take Action on Model Systems     Historic Reforms for Accessible Air Travel Now Within Reach Together, we are making real progress in our fight for wheelchair users to fly safely and with dignity. The U.S. Department of Transportation released a proposed rule that will vastly improve the air travel experience for people with mobility impairments. Read on about the extensive changes proposed here, and comment by May 13th using this brand new talking points guide.     Stay in the loop. Be on the forefront of change. Subscribe to our Advocacy and Policy newsletter.     COMMUNITY SUPPORT     Survey: North American Spinal Cord Injury Consortium—Information Needs of People Living with SCI NASCIC and our principal members are trying to understand—and overcome—the information gap experienced by people living with SCI, but we need to hear from you first. We want to understand the important health information sources, needs and gaps among the SCI community. We are seeking information based on the lived experience of those living with SCI, family members, spouses & partners, as well as caregivers. The survey takes about 20 minutes to complete. At the end, you can sign-up for a chance to win a gift card as an appreciation for your time. Take the survey.     SPONSORED CONTENT     Can we develop #PrecisionMedicine for Long COVID? Join us April 30 at 2pm ET for a panel on #LongCOVID, Disability + @AllofUsResearch. Hear from patient advocates on the importance of inclusive health research to support people with Long COVID. Register for this webinar.     CHECK THESE OUT   Social Hour Take a little break from the daily grind. Join us every Thursday at 1pm ET for a social hour via Zoom to connect with others from our local chapters, support groups, and peer mentoring networks. Register here.   Advocacy Live Join the Rolling Revolution Come join and collaborate with other advocates the 3rd Tuesday of every month – alternating times at 1pm ET and 5pm ET. The next Advocacy Live is April 16 at 1pm ET.   Resource Center Live Come join our Resource Center team to have your questions answered live. The next meeting is April 24 at 4pm ET.   VIEW ALL UPCOMING EVENTS   TechTalks Join United Spinal Tech Access Members to collaborate and share about accessible technology. The next meeting is April 11 at 5pm ET.   Empowering Parental Caregivers Calling all parents/guardians of children, adolescents, or young adults with spinal cord injuries or mobility disorders- if you are looking for a community that understands what you are going through, this group is for you! The next meeting is April 9 at 7pm ET.   Rolling with Pride - New Time! Want to meet other LGBTQIA wheelchair users from around the country? Now you can! All members of the LGBTQIA community who have disabilities — including our allies —  are welcome. Rolling with Pride now meets the first Wednesday of every month. Our next meeting is May 1 at 6pm ET.     Copyright © 2024 United Spinal Association. All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: 120-34 Queens Blvd. #330 Kew Gardens, NY 11415 Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.