​The 2 week program will:
1. Provide formal one to one physical therapy, occupational therapy and strength/conditioning to provide a participant directed, comprehensive second chance at rehabilitation to the community-dwelling individual with a spinal cord injury.  
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2. Emphasize the power of group-work, with classes that allow the participants to work together on common goals and to support and encourage each other.  Group activities will focus on issues that are common among individuals with spinal cord injuries, and will be led by peer mentors, physical therapists, occupational therapists, recreational therapists, rehabilitation counselors, and Stony Brook University faculty.
 
3. Focus on exposing the participants to opportunities, education, and peer mentoring; all with the same mission to better the lives of those living with a spinal cord injury. The participants will live on campus in accessible housing from Sunday, July 15-Saturday, July 28 away from their homes and personal care attendants. Each day, the participant will be surrounded by clinical professionals, peer mentors and other participants, while sculpting their empowered outlook on life.  Through recreational activities ranging from kayaking to hand-cycling, and group activities led by their peers, each individual will lay the groundwork for a foundation of stability and empowerment that will forever impact the path of their life.

Mark your calendars and purchase your tickets! Back by popular demand, Empower SCI will host its Second Gala. As promised last year, we are surging forward towards a decade of changing lives. Empower SCI hosted its 6th summer program this July. We are proud of the past 6 years of successful programming and changed lives. We are compelled to bring this program to 12 more individuals and have decided to head West to open a second program. This year's Gala will help fundraise for this program scheduled to launch in the Summer of 2018.

We've booked the Marriott in Downtown Providence for our Gala on Saturday, November 11th. The event starts at 6PM and ends at midnight. Dress is black tie optional. All past participants, volunteers, and supporters of any kind are welcome to join us for a night of recognition, celebration, dancing, exceptional eats, raffles, and other surprises. Ticket prices are $100 per person. More details to follow via our website, social media, and our newsletter. #EmpowerHeadsWest
Please indicate your desired meal preference on the ticket order form. If you are attending as a group of two or more, please purchase tickets together in order to be seated at the same table.

Tickets can be purchased online at Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/empower-sci-gala-2017-tickets-36933397787

Sponsorship Information
There are a variety of tickets that can be purchased for this event including individual tickets, event sponsorship, and sponsorship of a past participant who may have limited personal funds to attend the Gala. To avoid second party fees, sponsorship can also be purchased by mailing a check to

PO Box 8631
Boston, MA 02114.

*Mailed checks must be received by 11/1/17. Please include 2017 Gala Sponsorship in the memo section of the written check.
Please see below descriptions for sponsorship options:

Diamond Headline Sponsor $4,000

• 10 Complimentary Tickets with reserved company table
• Logo and Name in Biannual Newsletter for 1 year
• Logo and name on Empower SCI Homepage
• Monthly Facebook recognition 1 year following event
• Name and logo on event program

Platinum $2,500

• 8 Complimentary Tickets
• Name Empower SCI Homepage
• Company Name on biannual newsletter for 1 year
• Company Recognition at Gala
• Facebook recognition 6 months following event
• Name on event program

Gold $1,000

• 6 Complimentary Tickets
• Company Description and link on website
• Company Recognition at Gala
• Facebook Recognition for 3 months following event

Silver $500

• 4 Complimentary Tickets
• Company Description and link on website
• Company Recognition at Gala

Bronze $300

• 2 Complimentary Tickets
• Company Recognition at Gala

Past Participant Gala Attendance Sponsorship $250

• Our past program participants are living proof of Empower SCI's impact, although the cost of living related to SCI continues to be high. Please consider sponsoring a participant's attendance to the Gala including hotel room in order to minimize his or her personal cost of attending.

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Knobby Tire Ride and Roll is for everyone! We will have 2 marked and led-rides for upright mountain-bikers, all sorts of adaptive equipment and mellow trails for individuals with physical limitations, and some fantastic raffle prizes to give away to some lucky winners. This will be our third annual Ride and Roll and we are hoping to make it a great one! 

One of the major goals of Knobby Tire is to give wheelchair-users the opportunity to return to the trails using adaptive equipment. We invite bikers, hikers and wheelchair-users of all abilities to come enjoy the beautiful trails at Great Brook Farm and help support this awesome nonprofit organization. 

Knobby Tire Ride and Roll is a fundraising event to benefit Empower Spinal Cord Injury, a residential rehab program located at Stony Brook University in Long Island, New York that looks to get individuals with spinal cord injury back to school, work, travel, and (of course) Recreation. 

Buy tickets at: http://www.active.com/carlisle-ma/cycling/mountain-biking/knobby-tire-ride-and-roll-2017
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Check out our website for more info and please help us spread the word!https://knobby-tire.squarespace.com/

Advanced Wheelchair Skills Course for Individuals with Spinal Cord Injuries, Therapists and Students

Getting left behind because you can’t get up that curb? Looking to take your ability to perform or teach wheelchair skills to the next level?

Everything you want to know about getting around those daily obstacles in your manual wheelchair: stairs, curbs, grass, gravel, ramps 
Learn basics of wheelchair maintenance and adjustments 
Understand basic manual wheelchair configuration and how adjustments affect propulsion mechanics
Come to Tufts University for all of this and more! We will have an AM session (9AM-12PM) for beginner and intermediate level wheelchair-users and a PM session (1pm-4pm) for intermediate to advanced wheelchair-users. Sign up right away to secure your space in the desired time-slot before spaces fill up! 

Find Tickets at Active.com
http://www.active.com/medford-ma/clinics/advanced-wheelchair-skills-course-tufts-2016

Location:
Tufts University - Boston School of Occupational Therapy (2nd Floor)
574 Boston Ave
​Medford, MA 02155

Here is a quick sneak peak at what kind of skills the course reviews: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daPM9k1pJPc

About This Activity 
Let’s take to the trails!  Trail Riding Event open to ALL ABILITIES!  Come to Great Brook Farm State Park on September 24 between 1-6pm and ride with us.  Guided rides for able-bodied individuals, and accessible equipment to trial for wheelchair-users.

• Excited to get back out on the trails, but need a little adaptations to make it happen?  Come  ride with our crew, try out equipment, and get some help to get back on the trails!
• Excited to go mountain biking, AND help raise money for a great cause??  Come for the mountain bike ride, and hit some of the best trails in New England! 
• AND we'll have a good old fashioned BBQ!  BBQ pork and home-made salads to complete the meal will be available
• Fantastic Prizes available for raffle from local vendors- come for the ride, stay for the food, and go home with some great prizes from the raffle!

Event Details and Schedule
Knobby Tire Ride And Roll to benefit Empower SCI
Registration on-site starts at 1PM
Guided rides and adaptive equipment trail rides occur between 1:30-4:30PM
In the event of poor weather, an email will be sent out to registrants on 9/24 by 11AM to determine if the event will occur
Please check out the Empower SCI program video for more info on the summer program that this will raise money for (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHDs0e_4jUE)
and please check out this video to see where the inspiration came from to create this event-  see one of the event coordinator's (Ryan) own journey back to the trails (https://www.facebook.com/ryanridetorecovery?fref=ts).