The Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) has announced the distribution of more than $1.3 million in grants through its Access for Athletes program—a record-breaking distribution for the Foundation. Grants were distributed to 765 athletes with disabilities in 25 countries including individuals in 49 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. The funding—totaling $1,363,049—will pay for adaptive sports equipment, training and coaching, and competition expenses that will enable physically challenged athletes of all ages and abilities to take part in life-affirming sports, according to CAF.
“Given these trying times, we are thrilled to be able to provide support to such a large population of challenged athletes,” said Jeffrey Essakow, CAF’s Board President. “Over the past 16 years, CAF has directly funded more than 4,000 physically challenged individuals to become active again and compete in sports. We’re proud to say that this year CAF is changing more lives than ever before!”
“We received close to 1,000 applications this year, which is almost 300 more than last year,” said Jill Prichard, CAF’s director of programs. “Thankfully, we were able to approve 79 percent of the requests–helping even more people get into the game.”
Access for Athletes is designed to bridge the economic barriers to participation in sports for physically challenged athletes, according to CAF. “This program provides vital resources to allow challenged athletes to become active again and compete in the sports they love,” said Virginia Tinley, CAF’s executive director. “Sadly, without this funding, many would be left on the sidelines. We also want to make sure that these resources and adaptive equipment go to deserving individuals, so each application goes through a very detailed approval process. CAF doesn’t discriminate based on age, gender, level of ability or sports, but we do require a financial need.”
To view the full 2009 CAF grant distribution summary, visit www.challengedathletes.org/pdfs/2009GrantDistributionStatistics.pdf
