#Middlebury #Veterans
Some of us have been waiting for this: The Department of Veterans Affairs has awarded another $14.8 million in grants that will go to veterans adaptive sports programs. These grants will go to 120 organizations that create and manage sports programs for disabled veterans and members of the Armed Forces. That’s nearly double the funding from just a few years ago.
The groups that receive these grants (at the local, regional and national levels) are in all 50 states, plus D.C. and Puerto Rico, and will serve 11,000 participants.
To see what’s going on, go online to www.va.gov/adaptivesports. Look for the National Veterans Wheelchair Games for those with stroke, amputations, spinal injuries and more. For veterans age 55 and older, look for the Golden Age Games. If you like the snow and cold, check out the Winter Sports Clinic. Like golf? Take a look at the National Disabled Veterans T.E.E. (Train, Exposure, Experience) program.
If you hope to train for the Paralympics, go to www.teamusa.org. Your options are many: wheelchair tennis, archery, rowing, wheelchair rugby, track and field, equestrian, snowboarding, biathlon, cross-country skiing and many, many more.
To find sports in your area, put Sports Club Finder in the search box at the va.gov site.
To see all of the organizations that received grants, go to www.blogs.va.gov/nvspse/grant-program/ and click on the recipients list.
Don’t miss the @Sports4Vets page on Twitter. You’ll find lots of personal stories and videos by and about veterans. Surfing, cycling, rowing … they’re doing it all.
And for veterans who need new ways to deal with stress and anxiety, $1.5 million is going to equine therapy, that is, working with horses and learning how it can open new doors to coping. (Did you know that biochemical changes occur in the brain while working with horses?) Watch the video at www.blogs.va.gov/VAntage/63128.
© 2019 King Features Synd., Inc.
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