Disabled Sports USA (DSUSA) has received a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide free adaptive winter sports and recreation opportunities to veterans with disabilities. The funds will be distributed to 25 DSUSA chapters in 17 states: California, Colorado, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Activities will be conducted as part of DSUSA’s Warfighter Sports program and include alpine skiing, Nordic skiing, snowboarding, sled hockey, biathlon, and wheelchair curling.
The VA Adaptive Sports Grant program provides funding to organizations to increase and expand the quantity and quality of community-based adaptive sport activities for veterans and service members with disabilities. The grant program also supports more advanced Paralympic and adaptive sport programs at the regional and national levels. More than 16,000 veterans are supported through this program annually.
“This generous grant from the Department of Veterans Affairs will make it possible for disabled veterans to reap the benefits of adaptive sports participation,” said Kirk Bauer, DSUSA executive director and a Vietnam veteran with a disability. “Research has proven that disabled veterans who participate in adaptive sports and recreation programs are more likely to lead healthier, more productive, and happier lives.”