The Hartford, a provider of disability insurance and a 30-year advocate of the adaptive sports movement, is donating $3.5 million over three years to Move United to increase access to and participation in adaptive sports.
“We are on a mission to increase participation in adaptive sports by making competitions, local events, and equipment more accessible to youth and adult athletes,” said Claire Burns, The Hartford’s chief marketing and communications officer. “Adaptive athletes pay approximately 15 times more for equipment than non-adaptive athletes and we are committed to helping remove cost as a barrier to participation. We are proud of our long-standing partnership with Move United, which creates opportunities for thousands of adaptive athletes to experience the life-changing power of sports.”
This commitment and partnership with Move United, the national leader in community adaptive sports, includes ongoing equipment donations to local adaptive sports programs, The Hartford’s Adaptive Sports Competition Series, and the title sponsorship of the largest competition within the series, The Harford Nationals. The series features five premier sanctioned events across the country and includes surprise custom equipment donations, the Human Achievement award and meet and greets with champion Para Athletes. All five competitions, sanctioned by Move United, provide more than 2,000 youth and adults with disabilities the opportunity to compete in 15 adaptive sports, participate in learning clinics, and receive national classification.
“The Hartford holds a unique and long-standing allyship with the adaptive sports community,” said Glenn Merry, Move United executive director. “There is really no other partner who could assume such an integral leadership role in driving access to equipment and competition for our athletes. The impact from this commitment is that fewer people with disabilities will be left on the sidelines, and that means a new generation of athletes will experience how sports make you more.”
Over the past five years, in partnership with Move United, The Hartford has donated more than 5,000 pieces of adaptive sports equipment in more than 40 communities across the country, inspiring more than 11,000 new participants to join adaptive sports programs.
