CP Unlimited has a long history of serving the New York City and Hudson Valley community through extensive and varied supports for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
One component of these efforts is an ongoing schedule of public wheelchair cleaning and maintenance sessions open to all wheelchair users. These efforts were expanded in 2022 by a generous $500,000 grant issued by the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation, allowing the Agency to offer more, and longer, sessions.
The Foundation provides grants to improve the health and wellbeing of vulnerable New Yorkers, bolster the health outcomes of diverse communities, eliminate barriers to care, and bridge gaps in health services.
While initially targeted at servicing 200 individuals for the full year, we quickly found that the demand was even greater than expected—especially among military veterans. In just the first half of 2022, CP Unlimited had already surpassed the initial goal; by the end of the year CP will have completed enough evaluations to mark a 300% increase.
The result? More than 630 individuals were able to grow their independence and mobility, safely and with confidence.
Given the proven need—and our success—the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation magnified our grant, awarding CP Unlimited $1M for 2023!
“It makes me proud to work for the most caring agency in the country. This grant is going to allow us to make a big difference in the lives of many individuals inside and outside of our community,” said Paul DiGiovanni, Associate Director of Rehabilitation Services at CP Unlimited.
In addition to helping extend our outreach to veteran and disability-advocacy groups, the new grant will also enable the development of On the Move, a transformative mobility program for people who use wheelchairs. This means that our grant gets people moving like never before, using innovative methods, in a much larger geographic area!
Mother Cabrini Health Foundation has made a significant statement as to both the degree of need and the level of trust in CP Unlimited to meet those demands successfully.
All of us throughout the Agency will work diligently to bring these helpful services to wheelchair users in New York City and look forward to doing so with purpose and care.
