FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 15, 2004
Contact: Julie Besaha
(202) 223-2878
OPAF INTERN CHOOSES O&P
Washington, DC – This fall, one of OPAF’s recent interns, Ms. Natalie
Kuntz, will be enrolling in Northwestern University’s
Prosthetics-Orthotics Program (http://www.nupoc.northwestern.edu).
Since 2003, Ms. Kuntz has assisted OPAF in the unprecedented growth of
the OPAF DC Community Initiative, which provides weekly mentoring and
leadership development among children and adolescents undergoing
physical rehabilitation, and approximately 90% of whom use orthoses and
related assistive technology, at the nonprofit Hospital for Sick
Children.
The OPAF Internship Program is a specially designed initiative for
creative and team-minded young people — undergraduates, recent
graduates, graduate students, and exceptional high school seniors —
who wish to learn about the nonprofit sector, nonprofit programs that
serve people with physical disabilities, and public service in the name
of O&P.
“Over the past year,” Ms. Kuntz stated, “my time spent with OPAF has
proven to be very valuable. Each aspect of my work as an OPAF intern,
whether working directly with children in a long term rehabilitation
hospital or working indirectly promoting educational workshops for
individuals with physical disabilities, has increased my interest in the
O&P profession. Through the culmination of my own experiences, as well
as the experiences I have gained as a direct result of being an OPAF
intern, I was selected to continue my education in prosthetics at
Northwestern University.”
Fifteen individuals, including Ms. Kuntz, have enrolled in the OPAF
Internship Program since its inception in 2002.
For more information about the OPAF internship program, please visit
http://www.opfund.org/programs/internship.htm or contact Julie Besaha,
OPAF Director of Operations, at (202) 223-2878; jab@opfund.org.
—
OPAF is a 501(c)(3) public charity, the official philanthropy of the
U.S. orthotics and prosthetics community, established in 1995 by the
Orthotic and Prosthetic National Office. Dedicated initially to
providing financial and in-kind support to the 1996 Paralympics, OPAF
now generates its own initiatives through partnerships with individuals,
organizations and institutions engaged in raising public awareness of
disability and improving the quality of rehabilitation medicine, science
and technology.
As a community-focused nonprofit organization, OPAF aims primarily to
enable individuals with physical disabilities-especially those served by
members of the orthotics and prosthetics community-to enjoy the rewards
of personal achievement, physical fitness, and social interaction.
All contributions to OPAF are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of
U.S. law, and annual sponsorships of OPAF, its programs, and its
fundraisers are available to every individual, institution, and company
inside and beyond the O&P community. For more information about
sponsorship opportunities contact OPAF at 1666 K Street NW, Suite 440,
Washington, DC 20006, Tel. (202) 223-2878, email opaf@opfund.org, or
visit http://www.opfund.org/support/index.html
For complete information about current OPAF programs, please visit
www.opfund.org.
