1. Art and Diseño

S TAY I N G C O N N E C T E D A F T E R PA R A L Y S I S
Barbara Appel
Steven Augustine
Paul Averill
Phil Beder
Walter Benvin
Simcha Berman
David Bianchi
Angelo Bianco
Karen Biscotti
Ted Bodenheimer
Rosemary Boyle
Michael Bravo
Jeff Brosi
Alan T. Brown
James Brown
Kurt Brown, Sr.
Karl W. Bruning
Marc Buoniconti
Angela Bushey
Stephen J. Butler
Victor Calise
Terry Canty
Steven J. Caputo
Bridget Carvajal
David Carmel
Bill Cawley
James Cesario
Jamie Clare
Francesco Clark
Kevin Conlon
Jaime Contreras
Brendan Costello
Michele Daly
Barbara Deinhardt
Massimo Desiderrio
Bill Duff
Timothy Dunn
Chris Durfee
Alisa Feldman
Larry Feltzin
Tony Fitzgerald
Beth Flannery
Eric Friedland
Judith Goodman
Jeff Gorman
Erik Grafe
Chris Grant
Jimmy Greene
Patti Gregory
Daryl Gwynn
Henry Handel
Ken Harrington-Howes
Henry Hasson
Tom Heimer
Justin Helstein
Louis Hernandez
Danny Heumann
Erik Hjeltnes
Keiko Honda
Danny Hong
Jack Jablonski
Deodat Jhoda
Joshua Klein
Elisha Kobre
Ross Kreines
Geoff Krill
Deborah Krotenberg
Corinne Lantz
Dennis Larkin
Herman Liere
Christine Mace
Tom Mastin
Steven McDonald
Mark Meissner
Debra Mellen
Mirthe Merville
Donna Messinger
Michael Monaco
Jim Monahan
Michael Montalto
Peter Morton
Eric Muhlrad
Kareem Nelson
Chris Noel
Tony Nogueira
Ken Opalsky
Jessica Orol
Mark Pinney
Jason Pinskey
Ilya Poluektov
Andrew Price
Taylor Price
Keith Prunty
Gary Qualles
Darren Quinn
Ziggy Repetto
Neal Richards
Brian Rocco
Nick Roiter
Ethan Ruby
Ed Russo
Bill Ryan, Jr.
Mike Ryan
Walter Rynasko
Ted Saland
Edin Sarkinovic
Daniel Schleifman
Saira Sher
Wilfredo Soto
Henry Stifel III
Daryl Stingley
Carlana Stone
Miguel Such
Daniel Tratt
Marion Tuchman
Jose Uribe
Mike Utley
Lauren Verlizzo
Laura Wagner
Sterlie Wilson
Alexander Wood
Jeff Worthington
And we remember:
Shlomo Feder
Ed Gallagher
Michael Kranis
Bill Lavner
Jillian Orrick
Christopher Reeve
Doron Troper
John Watkins
Read & Learn About Our
Program Services and
New Outreach Initiatives
Your Support Improves the Lives of
People Living With Paralysis
ATBF’s New Mission Statement
The Alan T Brown Foundation (ATBF) is dedicated to improving the
quality of life for people living with paralysis. Through personal
contact we provide information, resource referrals and peer support to
the paralyzed individual and their family. We strive to assist individuals
in achieving the highest personal level of independence, sustaining
a healthy lifestyle, managing daily and chronic health issues, and
adjusting to their new life after paralysis.
Outreach & Peer Mentoring Program
Spinal cord injury (SCI) turns a life upside down.
Although paralysis can occur from any number of
reasons — an accident, virus, surgery, stroke —
the end result is the same: altered lives filled with
overwhelming challenges, changes and adjustment.
The ATBF Outreach Program offers meaningful
assistance and hope in several ways.
ATBF functions with compassion and understanding
as a resource and support system for the newly
injured and their families. Telephone counseling is an
ongoing and essential component of the Foundation’s
outreach mechanism. These calls and meetings can
be about coping emotionally, physically and/or
psychologically. ATBF disseminates information
regarding recommended doctors, hospitals,
rehabilitation centers, therapists, travel, fertility
options, playing sports, going back to school — and
so much more. The list is endless.
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In coping with uncertainty and trauma, it can be
reassuring to know that people care. ATBF
takes great pride in the role it has played, and
continues to fulfill, in making a difference in so
many lives.
The ATBF Peer Mentoring Program is under the
umbrella of the Outreach Program. Through the
Peer Mentoring Program, lifelines are forged to
offer support and assistance in moving forward.
The Foundation facilitates relationships by
connecting the newly injured with those who have
“been there.” ATBF links individuals based on
their level of injury, age, common interests, etc.
It also helps bring together spouses, siblings and
friends of those who have become paralyzed.
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Health & Fitness Program at
Mount Sinai Medical Center
Department of Rehabilitation
We are proud to continue to support
the Health & Fitness Series at Mount
Sinai Medical Center Department of
Rehabilitation. This program runs
on Tuesday and Thursday evenings
from 5-7pm and consists of a variety
of physical exercises dedicated to
improving the physical and mental
health and fitness of in-patient and
out-patient individuals with spinal
cord injuries. ATBF funds are used
for supervision by a physician and
a recreational therapist and for the
upkeep of exercise equipment
including a vitaglide, universal
weight machine, stationary hand
cycle, upper-toner, speed-bag, free
weights, rickshaw and more.
This outreach initiative provides
paralyzed people with a forum for
physical activities and emotional
support at a location many are
already connected with if they have
been previous in-patients!
*Shawn has an incomplete injury
and has made great strides in his
rehabilitation efforts.
“During my session of weight
training, I managed to work out
muscles I had not worked out in
a long time. This gave me the
opportunity to work with amazing
instructors who gave me the drive
and motivation to achieve my
weight level goal.”- Sabrina Bennett
Below are a few words from the
program participants:
SAVE
THE DATE:
“I am grateful for the out-patient
Weight Lifting Program. It gave me a
twice weekly outside activity that has
assisted immeasurably in the progress
I have made towards walking again.
While the concentration was on my
upper body - my biceps, triceps,
shoulders, forearms, and chest, it has
been my sense of self-acceptance
where I’ve made the most gains. It
was participation in this program
which has bolstered my motivation
and desire to walk again; something
a year ago I did not believe possible.
The program has contributed towards
a measurable and significant
improvement in my overall well
being.”- Shawn Young
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Sunday,
February 1st, 2015
11th Annual Family Fun Day
Monday, August 3rd, 2015
27th Annual Golf &
Tennis Tournament
Committees
Forming Now!
Email [email protected]
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The AXIS Project
The Alan T Brown Foundation was invited
to the launch of The Axis Project in late
August by our friends at Wheeling Forward
and Wheels of Progress. The Axis Project
is a new and innovative social daycare center
designed for people with disabilities. The
program is located in a 7,500 square foot
multidisciplinary center in Harlem that
offers programs and activities designed to
empower and motivate people with physical
disabilities to pursue a healthy, active life
style. The center is wheelchair accessible and
features all accessible equipment. Adults 18
or older who need help with activities of
daily living and are Medicaid-eligible may
participate. The program is located at 1325
Fifth Avenue on the Ground Floor in NYC. The
entrance is on East 112th Street. Key leaders
of the program include Fitness Director,
Lawrence Harding; Program Co-Director
Alex Elegudin, Co-Founder of the non-profit
Wheeling Forward; Program Co-Director
George Gallego, Founder of the non-profit
Wheeling Forward; Kiki Flynn, Renowned
Yoga Director; and Movement Instructor,
Zazel Chavah O’Garra. ATBF is proud to
support this program in 2015.
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North Shore-LIJ Sports Therapy
and Rehabilitation Services
(STARS) Program
Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation
Services (STARS), part of the North
Shore-LIJ Rehabilitation Network,
helps you and your loved ones find
relief from pain and get moving
again after an accident, injury, illness
or surgery. The experienced and
knowledgeable staff of physical
therapists, occupational therapists
and other health professionals truly
understands the meaning of quality
care and are chosen as much
for their compassion and caring
as for their skill and experience.
They will provide you with the
education, support and motivation
you need to get back to your
individual level of independence.
ATBF is proud to support this program.
“After the accident, the only body
parts I could use were my shoulders,
arms, hands and upper chest. If it were
not for my doctor and therapists at
STARS, I am not sure I would have
been able to remain independent.”
“The services are remarkable and
the staff is very professional! The
STARS is located at six easy to
access locations throughout Long
Island and Queens.
STARS East Meadow is located at
801 Merrick Avenue in East Meadow,
NY 11554. They offer rehabilitation
services for persons living with spinal
cord injury as well as an array of
other services such as: orthopaedic
and joint replacement rehabilitation,
neurological rehabilitation, wheelchair
evaluations, balance and vestibular
rehabilitation, hand therapy, aquatic
therapy, spine care, and fracture and
trauma care. STARS offers weekly
classes such as Multiple Sclerosis
classes, arthritis aquatic classes and
cancer exercise classes. For more
information or to learn more about
the STARS Program call:
(516) 393-8900 or visit
www.northshorelij.com/STARS
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therapists treat you with love, respect
and care for you. They make you
feel like family.”
Transition Care Program
The Alan T Brown Foundation Transition Care Program
provides important home care services to uninsured
paralyzed patients through the Visiting Nurse Service
of New York (VNSNY), reflecting the Foundation’s
decision to focus on quality of life issues. The transition
from hospital to home is most often a traumatic and
chaotic time for a newly-injured person. Program
participants and their families receive visits from a wide
range of health care providers who will help them manage
their new physical limitations and daily routines by
demonstrating: how to transfer from a wheelchair to a bed,
how to take a shower, how to prevent pressure sores, and
so much more.
a spinal cord injury leaving him paralyzed from the
chest down. He was referred to VNSNY after being
turned down by a rehab center as he did not have any
insurance coverage. We admitted him after he was
discharged from the hospital as free care. The VNSNY
team (nurse, therapist and social worker) in conjunction
with the patient and his wife developed a plan to help
return to maximum level of function, control his pain
and to obtain financial assistance for medical care. When
he was discharged he was able to bathe, dress himself,
transfer and to walk with the aid of an assistive device.
Patient 2 is a 33 year old male who was recovering in a
hospital in Haiti from a gunshot wound which left him
paralyzed from the waist down. He was evacuated from
Haiti following the earthquake and was admitted to a
hospital in NYC. VNSNY admitted him with free care
to assist in stabilizing complications from his injury. He
had an open wound on his left hip and had also developed
a blood clot in his lower left leg. Once stabilized, he
returned to his family.
The ATBF Transition Care Program will be there for those
during that crucial time when they are adapting to their
new environment as a paralyzed person, and help set the
groundwork for their future care.
Patient 1 is a 24 year old male who lives in Manhattan. He
fell off the roof of a three-story building resulting in
16th Annual Mount Sinai Rehab Fair
ATBF participated in the 16th Annual Mount Sinai
Rehab Fair on Wednesday, October 1st, 2014. The
fair was held at the Guggenheim Atrium at the
Mount Sinai Health System located at 1468 Madison
Avenue, in New York City. Highlights of the day included
demonstrations of the latest rehabilitation equipment;
glucose and blood pressure screenings; safety and injury
prevention; sports and recreation activities; community
agencies; information, education and advocacy; and
entertainment with giveaways and food.
ATBF Staff Members Fran Brown and Chrissy Oliva
met with in-patients and out-patients and networked with
advocates as well as the agencies present. This annual event
provides ATBF with the ability to continue assisting people
with new spinal cord injuries, reacquaint ourselves with
familiar faces and allows us to network for potential
collaborative programs and events.
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The Inaugural Spinal Cord Injury
The Alan T Brown Foundation was proud
to co-organize the first Inaugural Spinal
Cord Injury Awareness 5K Run, Walk & Roll
on Saturday, October 11th, 2014 at Flushing
Meadows-Corona Park in Queens, NY.
We had 188 participants sign-up for the
event with over 40 dedicated volunteers,
and despite the wind and rain, 109 amazing
people crossed the finish line. The event
raised over $18,000 which will go directly
toward the five collaborating organizations;
the Alan T Brown Foundation, the Greater
New York Chapter of the National Spinal
Cord Injury Association, Wheeling Forward,
Wheels of Progress and the Wheelchair
Sports Federation.
We extend a special thank you to our
Gold Event Sponsor, United Spinal, and
Bronze Event Sponsor, Hollister. The event
collaborators were also thankful to receive
in-kind donations of water and sport
drinks courtesy of ShopRite of Oakland,
transportation donated by Bussani Mobility
and all signs and banners donated by Impact
Displays Group.
The purpose of this event was to help bring
awareness to spinal cord injury (SCI) and
paralysis. In promotion of the event, we
educated our community on spinal cord
injury during September’s nationally
recognized Spinal Cord Injury Awareness
Month with daily social media posts and
weekly email messages. Traumatic spinal
cord injuries (SCI) occur approximately
30 times a day across the United States. 80%
of those injuries effect young men, ages 16
to 30 years of age; presenting tremendous
physical, emotional and financial challenges
as they face living with paralysis. This
important fact and others were shared within
our community and by our collaborating
organizations leading up to the event. We
hope to continue educating the public
throughout the year and building this event
to attract more and more support and
awareness for our most worthy cause.
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F O U N D A T I O N
Awareness 5K Run, Walk & Roll
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26th Annual ProAm Golf
The 26th Annual ProAm Golf & Tennis
Tournament was held at two new course
locations, Tamarack Country Club and
Fairview Country Club in Greenwich,
CT and featured a new ProAm format.
This year’s event honored John Rosasco,
Senior Vice President, Public Relations
and Player Recruitment at the Madison
Square Garden Company, as our Guest
of Honor and James J. Cesario, M.A.,
CTRS as our Standing Tall Award
Recipient. Jim is the Spinal Cord
Injury Outreach Coordinator of the
Department of Physical Medicine and
Rehabilitation at Mount Sinai Hospital
and Founding President of the Greater
New York Chapter of the National
Spinal Cord Injury Association.
A big thank you to our Golf Co-Chairs,
James Carnavalla and Damien McClave
and our Tennis Co-Chairs, Joseph
Sokol, Alexandra Ziarko and Grace
Ziarko. The event was a huge success
because of our entire Tournament
Committee and our extraordinary
volunteers.
With the luck of great weather, we had
over one hundred and seventy golfers
and golf professionals who participated
in the golf portion of the Tournament
and a superb turnout for our Cocktail
Reception and Dinner, as well as our
Tennis Tournament. Bruce Beck and
Sam Rosen served as our Dinner Hosts
and kept the night alive with their
witty banter. We are grateful for their
presence and dedication.
The event would not be made possible
without the generous support of our
sponsors: Ingeborg and Ira Rennert,
ShopRite of Oakland, DocPlace, Central
Business Solutions, Inserra Shop-Rite
Supermarkets, Affiliated Adjustment
Group, Constellation Wealth Advisors,
Castle Bar & Grill, and Port Logistics
Group.
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& Tennis Tournament
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10th Annual Family Fun Day
On Sunday, February 23rd, 2014 the Alan T Brown Foundation
hosted its 10th Annual Family Fun Day at the 69th Regiment
Armory in NYC. Adults and children of all ages made their way
to the Armory on Lexington Avenue to celebrate a day focused
on fun, as well as generations giving back. With a circus,
giant inflatables, a DJ, carnival booths, art by MARCO, tie dye
t-shirt making, face painting, music by
Peter Davis, relays by Coach Chris, video
games, jewelry making, appleseeds’
various build it! break it! fix it! activities,
lip gloss making and a race car course-over 500 people proved this event a huge
success! Thank you to our loyal sponsors
and to our dedicated Chairs- Linda &
Jeffrey Esses, Dara & Adam Freed and
Jenn Muhlrad ---for helping make this
Family Fun Day the best yet!
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Sign-up for this year’s Family Fun Day Committee,
which will be held on February 1st, 2015. You can
let us know by contacting Fran Brown or Chrissy
Oliva at the Foundation via email at [email protected]
or phone, 212-944-8727.
F O U N D A T I O N
Hockey For A Cause
On the evening of Saturday, January
18th, 2014, the Annual SAR vs.
Ramaz Hockey Tournament to
benefit the Alan T Brown
Foundation (ATBF) was held at the
Ramaz School in NYC. This year
over $9,000 was raised through the
combined sale of raffle tickets and
sponsorships. We were very grateful
and fortunate to have had the support
of so many families.
This year’s game featured
Motivational Speaker George
Gallego, the Founder of Wheels
of Progress. George is a
paraplegic and world class
athlete who for the past
four years has competed in
triathlons around the world.
He spoke to the children and
parents between games about
the many triathlon competitions
that he has participated in as
a para-athlete. He also told the
children about the importance
of doing good deeds, being kind
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and helping others recounting a
story of a homeless man he used
to help. This, he emphasized, is
primary in his life--- as well as
the benefit of people caring about
others that are in need on many
levels. George then asked a student
to come over and reach into
the backpack on the back of his
wheelchair. The student pulled out
over 20 race medals hanging on
different color ribbons. These were
the trophies that George had won
in many of his competitions. George
asked everyone to focus on the
medals and then delivered his very
clear and strong message - in life
accolades and awards can never
compare to the value of helping
another human being.
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Junior Board
Networking Event
ATBF LEADERSHIP
Fran Brown
Co-Founder / President
Chrissy Oliva
Director of Development
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Robert C. Clare
Chairman of the Board
Peter Rosenberger
Vice–Chairman
Eric Muhlrad
Secretary
Daniel J. Ordan
Treasurer
Jack Conlon
President Emeritus
Alan T. Brown
Co-Founder
Benjamin Brown
Paul D’Antonio
Jimmy Haber
Tamie Kranis
Sara Lavner
Daniel Uribe
Sandy Ward
On February 26th, 2014 ATBF’s Junior Board hosted their first
networking event, inviting new friends and faces to learn about the
Foundation. A special thanks to Alissa and Howie Shams for sharing
their home with us. We are so excited to have a growing interest in the
Junior Board!
MEDICAL ADVISORY BOARD
*Photo From left to right: Rachele Rosen, Shelby Greenbaum,
Fran Brown, Gabriel Schwartz, Nathan Shams, Chrissy Oliva,
Chad Stogel, John Trentacoste
SAVE THE DATE:
Sunday, February 1st, 2015
11th Annual Family Fun Day
Monday, August 3rd, 2015
27th Annual Golf & Tennis Tournament
Committees Forming Now!
Email [email protected]
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Adam Bender, M.D.
Martin B. Camins, M.D.,
F.A.C.S.
Frank Cammisa, M.D.
Andrew Casden, M.D.
Frank J. Eismont, M.D.
Barth A. Green, M.D.
Arthur Jenkins, M.D.
Michael Kaiser, M.D.
Steven Kirshblum, M.D.
Mark S. Nash, Ph.D.
Michael Neuwirth, M.D.
Patrick F. O’Leary, M.D.
Sheldon Pike, M.D.
Kenneth Prager, M.D.
Kristjan Ragnarsson, M.D.
Adam B. Stein, M.D.
Wise Young, M.D., Ph.D.
JUNIOR BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Cinthya Alvarez
Paul Averill
Christian Coates
Ben Crovella
Alyssa D’Antonio
Clint Dewey
Max Dorne
Evan Dremluk
Michael Dremluk
Matt Dubbioso
Samuel Goldberg
Shelby Greenbaum
Sophie Kahn
Alexandra Kern
Vanessa Kern
Ethan Kobre
Kaitlin Krieger
Christina Mallon
F O U N D A T I O N
Zach Masters
Kyle McClave
John McFadyen
James Michalove
Matt Popper
Sarah Pous
Maxi Prinsen
Will Quartner
Brittany Quigg
Gabriel Schwartz
Nathan Shams
Chad Stogel
Bobby Swift
Mickey Swift
John Trentacoste
Daniel Uribe
Tom Vitti
Adam Walder