ROCHELLE – With goals for the new year top of mind this month, the Kelly Brush Foundation is excited to help Nolan Turner of Rochelle launch into 2024 with new adaptive sports equipment that will help him achieve goals for an active lifestyle, despite his spinal cord injury. 

Sports and an active lifestyle help many people stay healthy and connected to friends and family. For people with mobility challenges, however, being active can be difficult to access, due to the high cost of adaptive sports equipment, which is almost never covered by insurance. To inspire and empower people to lead active, engaged lives, the Kelly Brush Foundation provides funding, resources, and experiences to people with spinal cord injuries, helping them find ways to engage or reengage with sport. 

Nolan loves to be active, and his new rugby chair will empower him to reconnect with a loved activity and a healthy lifestyle. It will also make it easier to spend time with family and friends, and create a deeper connection with others in the community. he was awarded this grant as a part of the Kelly Brush Foundation’s fall 2023 grant cycle, and is now preparing to receive his new equipment now. 

“It’s exciting to help Nolan kick off 2024 with his a new rugby chair, helping him stay active and healthy,” Kelly Brush Foundation Executive Director Edie Perkins said. “While Nolan and others with spinal cord injuries work hard at their recovery, the process can be tedious and prescriptive. Adaptive sports are a way to break free of the structure, physical therapy clinics, and doctors’ offices, helping people enjoy life in ways that we’re all meant to – by moving our bodies and experiencing the full world around us. I can’t wait to see how this new equipment helps Nolan enjoy life and make new connections.”  

The Kelly Brush Foundation (KBF) is a dynamic and growing Burlington, Vermont-based non-profit whose mission is to inspire and empower people with spinal cord injuries to be active. KBF also works closely with the alpine ski racing community to improve safety at events. The Kelly Brush Foundation was founded in 2006 by Kelly Brush and her family after she sustained a spinal cord injury while racing in an NCAA alpine ski race. To date, the Kelly Brush Foundation has awarded more than 1,700 adaptive equipment grants to people in 50 states, and also hosts adaptive sports camps.