Joseph C. Sullivan 781-794-8100

Office of the Mayor One JFK Memorial Drive Braintree, Massachusetts 02184

Joseph C. Sullivan 781-794-8100 Mayor

TOWN OF BRAINTREE RECEIVES $7,490 GRANT FROM CHRISTOPHER & DANA REEVE FOUNDATION FOR HIGHLANDS PLAYGROUND SUN-SHADE

BRAINTREE, MA July 29, 2013 Mayor Joseph C. Sullivan is proud to announce that the Town of Braintree has received a $7,490 Quality of Life grant from the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation. The award was one of 74 grants totaling over $500,000 awarded by the Reeve Foundation to nonprofit organizations nationwide that provide more opportunities, access, and daily quality of life for individuals living with paralysis, their families, and caregivers. Created by the late Dana Reeve, the program has awarded 2,205 grants totaling nearly $17 million since 1999.

The Town of Braintree will use the grant to purchase and install a sun-shade over the universally accessible “Rock N’Ship Glider” at the Highlands Playground. The Rock N’Ship has proven to be a very popular asset at the playground. The ample room on the structure allows people using wheelchairs and other children/adults to relax and play simultaneously together.

“ The Town of Braintree is honored to have been chosen by the Reeve Foundation for this grant award,” said Mayor Sullivan. “We are grateful for all of the work done by the Reeve Foundation to serve people with disabilities and their companions. I would also like to thank the Braintree Commission on Disabilities and Grant Writer Barbara Mello for their assistance with the application. I am gratified that the sun shade will increase the comfort and safety of children using the specialized playground equipment at the Highlands Playground.”

“It is the Reeve Foundation’s esteemed pleasure to award Quality of Life grants that will help the paralysis community enhance their freedom and independence,” said Niketa Sheth, Senior Vice President of Quality of Life of the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation. “We are thrilled to be able to align with organizations that believe in our mission and the ability for those living with paralysis to achieve fulfillment.”

The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation Quality of Life grants program was conceived by the late Dana Reeve to address the myriad needs of children and adults with paralysis and other mobility impairments and their families. Grants support critical life-enhancing and life-changing initiatives that improve physical and emotional health and increase independence. Funded projects offer a diversity of services and approaches: improving access; providing education and job training; sponsoring organized sporting activities; and much more. Quality of Life grants are funded through a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Award #U59DD000838).

About the Reeve Foundation The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation is dedicated to curing spinal cord injury by funding innovative research and improving the quality of life for people living with paralysis through grants, information and advocacy. We meet all 20 of the Better Business Bureau’s standards for charity accountability and hold the BBB’s Charity Seal. The Paralysis Resource Center (PRC) is a program of the Reeve Foundation, and is funded through a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Award No. U59DD000838. For more information, please visit our website at www.ChristopherReeve.org or call 800-539-7309.

The Braintree Commission on Disabilities (BCOD) is the Braintree arm of the Massachusetts Office on Disability. The Mission of the Massachusetts Office on Disability is to bring about full and equal participation of people with disabilities in all aspects of life. It works to assure the advancement of legal rights and for the promotion of maximum opportunities, supportive services, accommodations and accessibility in a manner which fosters dignity and self-determination. For more information, please visit the BCOD website at www.braintreema.gov/CommissiononDisabilities.htm, or call 781- 794-8195.

Contact Barbara A. Mello, Grant Writer Town of Braintree (781) 794-8145 [email protected]

Janelle LoBello Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation 800-225-0292 [email protected]