CCF grants help support those with spinal cord injuries
SOME 15 YEARS AGO, Cindi Cooperman met the friend who would ultimately change the course of her life. The woman, paralyzed after a car accident 10 years prior, would open Cindi’s eyes to the struggles people with spinal cord injuries have when their quality-of-life needs went unmet.
The friend had already spent two years on a waiting list for a hospital bed, something which bewildered Cindi. Over the next nine months, she researched various organizations and nonprofits looking for anything to support people with spinal cord injuries in their daily lives. But while foundations like the Christopher Reeve Foundation raise money toward an eventual cure for spinal cord injuries, she found the immediate need largely unmet.
“I realized there were really a lot of areas where we were not providing what people needed when they were paralyzed,” Cindi said. “So, I just had an idea—like a different life path opening up in front of me.”
Although she had no experience running a nonprofit, Cindi felt compelled to try and serve this need by assisting in the purchasing of essential medical equipment. Thus, the Neuro Assistance Foundation was founded in 2008.
When it began, Neuro Assistance Foundation served 11 counties across the DFW Metroplex. Fifteen years later, it has expanded to 81 counties across the state, including the two largest metro areas, DFW and the Greater Houston area. In DFW alone, approximately 28,000 people are living with spinal cord injuries. The foundation’s ten-year plan is to reach and serve every Texas county by 2028.
Over half of the nonprofit’s clients are uninsured children.
“A lot of these stories are tragic,” Cindi said. “Kids doing things that normal kids do like diving into a pool or wrestling. So we want to help these children in any way we can.”
Last year, the Neuro Assistance Foundation increased its support, helping 580 individuals, including their 2000th overall. This year, their goal is to support 650.
“When we served our 2000th client, it just kind of spured me on to have more expansion and help more people,” Cindi said.
The Neuro Assistance Foundation’s governing system is its board of directors, which meets several times throughout the year and seeks to actively grow the foundation’s network of partner hospitals. The board is also active in fundraising, including the Hot Hatch Chile Run, Walk & Roll, an event NAF began hosting in 2009, and the Big Shots and Clay Shoot Classics. These events are dear to Cindi’s heart.
It was through Texas Co-op Power magazine that Cindi first learned of the CoServ Charitable Foundation, and NAF and has since been approved for two separate grants for its incredible work.
“I get the magazine to my home and read it cover to cover,” Cindi said. “That’s how I learned about CCF grants and decided to reach out and apply. It took off from there.”
Operation Roundup® allows Members to have their bill rounded up to the nearest dollar and contribute on average $6 per year. The CoServ Charitable Foundation helps to support organizations that assist in providing basic human needs, promoting community vitality, and that supporting educational initiatives. Thank you for helping make your community a better place!
Neuro Assistance Foundation
2320 Bridgewood Dr.
Roanoke
neuroassistance.org
