Brennan Rehabilitation Foundation

2020 Socrates Award Grants Announced

Five Inspiring Tetraplegics Awarded Lifetime Grants from Brennan Rehabilitation Foundation

The Socrates Award recognizes individuals who have overcome disability with annual grant

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Christopher Brennan
Brennan Rehabilitation Foundation
847-372-7429
cjb1133@gmail.com
Click here to Download Press Release

CHICAGO – February 18, 2021 – Every year in the U.S., an estimated 17,000 people survive a spinal cord injury. While treatment and follow-up care varies according to the severity of the injury, medical expenses can easily exceed $500,000 in the first year alone.

These staggering costs have inspired the Brennan Rehabilitation Foundation to create the Socrates Award, a lifetime cash grant to provide tetraplegics, individuals with paralysis caused by illness or injury that results in the partial or total loss of use of all four limbs and torso, with economic resources for therapy, equipment, prescriptions, and in-home care.

This year, five recipients have been selected to receive the Socrates Award for their efforts in working to achieve personal success while pursuing the daily grind of physical rehabilitation and recovery:

• ADAM CRAIG (Wauwatosa, WI) experienced a horrific diving accident in 2018 that left him paralyzed from just below the shoulders to his feet. Adam is beating the odds on his recovery as a C4 Complete Tetraplegia – he can breathe on his own, cough on his own and is slowly regaining bicep and tricep function.

• MYA LYNN (Chicago, IL) suffered three gunshot wounds during a kidnapping that left her a quadriplegic. She later identified the three people responsible for the attack, leading to a conviction for her attempted murder and kidnapping. Mya recently represented the State of Illinois in the Ms. Wheelchair America Inc. competition as Ms. Wheelchair Illinois 2020, and uses her platform to raise awareness around the connection between addiction and disability.

• BRYON RIESCH (Milwaukee, WI) was left paralyzed from the chest down, with limited use of his arms after a devastating accident in 1998. After graduating from Marquette University, Bryon started a career in IT and established the Bryon Riesch Paralysis Foundation. Since 2001, the foundation has raised over $4 million to fund medical research to find a cure for paralysis.   

• REVECA TORRES (Palatine, IL) was paralyzed in a car accident as a teenager. Shortly after, she attended Harper College where she became the first student using a wheelchair to complete the fashion design degree. She continued her education at the University of Arizona where she earned a bachelor’s degree in theatre arts. Today, Reveca is an artist who uses painting, illustration, photography, film, movement, and other media as a form of expression and a tool for advocacy and social justice. She started a nonprofit organization called BACKBONES that provides one-on-one support for individuals with spinal cord injuries.

• DAN TSUTSUMI (Arlington Heights, IL) after returning home from eight years serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, he suffered a traumatic accident in Lake Michigan in 2012 that has left him in a quadriplegic condition. He is waging the biggest battle of his young life as he fights to recover and walk again.

Since 2018, the Brennan Rehabilitation Foundation annually recognizes the accomplishments of individual tetraplegics through the Socrates award. The award was originally created by Christopher Brennan, Chairman of the Foundation, during his tenure in sports media, and his father, Terry Brennan, a former head football coach at the University of Notre Dame, to honor collegiate athletes who achieved a combination of athletic and academic success. The award embodies the mantra of the Socrates creed, generally derived from the Latin phrase “mens sana in corpore sano” which translates to “Healthy Mind in a Healthy Body.”

“After personally suffering a spinal cord injury, the Socrates creed took on a profound meaning for me,” says Christopher Brennan. “I am honored to award these individuals who recognize that like a sport, life itself is full of incredible highs and frustrating lows, and that the daily pursuit of ‘a healthy mind’ and ‘a healthy body’ in the face of adversity is the true testament of one’s character.”

This year, the Socrates Award recipients will each receive a $1,000 grant and the Foundation anticipates that number to continue to grow in tandem with the organization’s fundraising efforts and events. The honorees, as well as past awardees, will be recognized at the Annual Board and Advisory Board meeting on May 23, 2021 at Sunset Ridge Country Club, pending COVID-19 restrictions.  

About

The Brennan Rehabilitation Foundation The Brennan Rehabilitation Foundation is a 501c3 charitable foundation located in Lake Forest, Illinois. The Foundation is committed to helping individuals, who have suffered cervical spinal injuries causing physical and cognitive disabilities, and their families and communities, by providing financial resources to help ensure a continuum of rehabilitation resources and provide opportunities for individuals to ultimately reach optimal health and independence. Please visit www.brennanrehabfoundation.org to learn more about donation opportunities and future fundraising events.

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Giving Tuesday 2020

Dear Supporters,

The Double Down on Disabilities Fund is holding a “Giving Tuesday” event this December and we need your help.

We have a goal to raise $25,000 from Giving Tuesday through the end of the year to help Socrates grant winners on their recovery journey from high cervical injury causing tetraplegia. This donation is truly meaningful and your support is essential in boosting our work of providing these individuals with economic resources for therapy, equipment, prescriptions and in-home care.

Here is how you can get ready to give:

1. Mark your calendar: December 1st is Giving Tuesday 2020.
2. Give. From December 1st until the end of the year, click here to donate.
3. Spread the word. Encourage your friends and family to join you in creating real impact on December 1st by sharing what The Brennan Rehabilitation Foundation and it’s Double Down On Disabilities Fund means to you and why you support our organization. Make sure to use the donate button or send your check to The Brennan Rehabilitation Foundation at 1020 Walden Lane, Lake Forest, IL. 60045.

Please consider making a gift. Your kindness and generosity will help us continue to provide access to unique opportunities for our Socrates Winners and medical grants that are focused on improving the treatment of cervical neck injuries. We work closely with the following entities; Rush Medical Center, Shirley Ryan Ability Lab and Froedtert in Milwaukee. 

Lastly, several Board and Advisory Board members have signed up for various medical studies being performed at these institutions. All studies are focused on improving the physical and mental damage caused by a debilitating cervical neck injury. 

Unfortunately, the pandemic had eliminated our fund raising events during the year however Giving Tuesday allows everyone an opportunity to make a donation for the 2020.

The pandemic’s painful reality requires us to isolate from one another, but, allows everyone to donate together on Tuesday!!

P.S. Many employers match their employees’ charitable gifts. Check to see if your employer offers this benefit to increase your impact on this Event. As a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, The Brennan Rehabilitation Foundation depends on donors like you to advance our vocation. The Socrates Award is given to an individual who is three years post cervical neck injury and exhibits the will to improve their “Mind and Body” while re-engaging as a productive person in society.
The Foundation wishes everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Regards,
Ryan Brennan
Chairman, Fund Raising Committee

October 2020 Update

Dear Friends of the Foundation,

The purpose of this email is to update you on the progress of our foundation. The year 2020, has been very tough on charities and our foundation is no exception. Unfortunately, after our initial Board and Advisory Board gathering in February, the rest of our 2020 events were canceled due to Covid-19 concerns.

June 2020 Update

Hello!

First and foremost, my sincere hope that you and your loved ones are safe and healthy. Our country is experiencing uncertain times with Covid-19, riots, protests and the shelter-in-place orders which has been tough on everyone. However, this is a good time to reflect on how a tetraplegic lives each and every day with non-governmental limits but health and physical limits.