Christopher & Dana Reeve Paralysis Resource Center Welcomes New Partners To Its Communities Of Color Network

SHORT HILLS, N.J., March 10 /PRNewswire/ -- The Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Resource Center (PRC) announced today that several health-related organizations that reach minority communities have partnered with the PRC and its Communities of Color Network. The Network is part of the PRC’s Minority Communities Outreach Campaign, an initiative to promote informed health care decisions and active and independent living among those in the Hispanic, African-American, Asian/Pacific Islander and Native American communities living with paralysis. In response to an appeal by the PRC, the partners have joined together to disseminate information and provide a virtual resource on paralysis and related quality of life issues for their membership.

The members include: the California Rural Indian Health Board; the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum; the Hawaii/Pacific Basin Area Health Education Center; the Sea of Dreams Foundation, Inc.; the National Asian Women’s Health Organization; the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation; the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities; and the National Medical Association.

“I am so very pleased to welcome these wonderful organizations into the Communities of Color Network,” said Dana Reeve, Chairperson of the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation (CRPF). “When Christopher was injured, one of the most terrifying aspects of life with paralysis was the lack of resources and support necessary to get back into a world that had completely changed. That was why we founded the PRC; to make sure that everyone affected by paralysis has a place to turn.

“Now, through the Network, we are connecting communities of color to valuable resources and information about paralysis. In addition, the PRC is able to answer inquiries in more than 50 languages with the help of real-time translation services. This is one more way to let people know that there is life after paralysis -- and a great life, at that!”

“The Network is an organic extension of the PRC’s Minority Communities Outreach Campaign,” said Joseph Canose, Vice President of Quality of Life at the CRPF. “By partnering with us, Network members will enable people all over the country to access the PRC’s resources through local or regional organizations.”

Any organization interested in becoming part of the Communities of Color Network is invited to contact Gabi Chojkier at (202) 974-5012 or chojkierg@ruderfinn.com.

The Minority Communities Outreach Campaign is a new public awareness initiative of the Christopher & Dana Reeve Paralysis Resource Center (PRC), a program of the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, formed through a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The PRC provides information services to people and their families nationwide who are living with paralysis. For more information on the PRC, please visit http://www.paralysis.org/.

Christopher & Dana Reeve Paralysis Resource Center

CONTACT: Shonali Burke, +1-202-974-5027, burkes@ruderfinn.com, or JulieKwon, +1-973-379-2690, jkwon@crpf.org, both for Christopher & Dana ReeveParalysis Resource Center