The family of the late Kathy Spozio, an Amputee Coalition board member and activist, presented a gift of $4,500 to the Bridge to Ability Scholarship Fund, a program that provides new amputees the financial means to attend and enjoy the benefits of the national conference. The family has pledged additional support annually.
“When Kathy became an amputee she found that her involvement with the Amputee Coalition put her in touch with other amputees, provided her current information and connected her to healthcare and other professionals. It opened a new perspective on life for her, and it empowered her to continue a full and active life,” Bernie Spozio, Kathy Spozio’s husband, said as he presented a check to the Amputee Coalition’s Board of Directors. “She became passionate about reaching out, helping other amputees and getting them involved. The donations from our family and friends to establish the Bridge to Ability Scholarship Fund in her honor will embrace her passion to increase amputee knowledge and empowerment. It will help others to access all the Amputee Coalition has to offer. Our family is extremely grateful for the opportunity to help the Amputee Coalition further their mission.”
The Bridge to Ability Fund provides full conference registration, covering health and wellness education, technology sessions, special clinics and social networking, as well as lodging expenses, to new amputees, enabling them to attend their first Amputee Coalition National Conference, according to a press release.
Accepting the check, board chairman Marshall Cohen said, “We thank the Spozio family for this generous gift that will allow scholarship recipients to build confidence, establish hope and help them get their lives back. We have learned from every conference that first-time attendees not only receive invaluable knowledge and information, but they also make connections and lifelong friends within the limb loss community.”
Through the Bridge to Ability Fund, 20 new Bridge Scholars were able to attend the Amputee Coalition National Conference in Kansas City this year. They learned of the many advances in state-of-the-art technology and heard many other success stories. Clinics such as mobility and gait, diabetes, prosthetic technology, pain, empowerment, Medicare/Medicaid and much more were presented.
The Kathy Spozio Bridge to Ability Fund will offer scholarships to new amputees for the 2013 Amputee Coalition National Conference.
For more information, please visit www.amputee-coalition.org or call (888) 267-5669.
