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BOSTON, MA – Garrett Burgess, a Chelmsford, MA sixth grader, will be honored at the upcoming Beanpot Benefit Golf Tournament in recognition of his recent cross-country “Flight for Hope” to benefit spinal cord injuries. Beginning on July 27, 2003, Garrett, who was paralyzed from the neck down at the age of five, and his father, Benton, an amateur pilot, flew a single engine plane to every continental state capital in the United States. In addition to coping with health concerns inherent with paralysis, the trip encountered severe weather and engine problems in the Midwest before successfully concluding on August 27 in Washington, DC.
In addition to raising funds for spinal cord injury (SCI) research, the sixth grader and his father hoped to raise awareness of what is happening in the field of SCI rehabilitation and recovery, meeting with governors, state officials, members of the media and spinal cord injury survivors and organizations at as many stops as possible. The trip received the support of Senator John Kerry who personally contacted the governors of each state the Burgesses visited. Proceeds benefited three spinal cord injury foundations, including the Travis Roy Foundation. Funds donated to the Travis Roy Foundation will go to the New England Spinal Cord Initiative (NESCI), a Foundation-supported initiative to build a state-of-the-art spinal cord research and rehabilitation center in New England.
GARRETT BURGESS: Garrett Burgess, who recently celebrated his 11th birthday, was paralyzed from the neck down six years ago due to injuries sustained in an automobile accident. Traveling home from a skating lesson, five-year-old Garrett and his father were in a head-on collision after the driver of another car fell asleep at the wheel. Since his injury, Garrett has been an active spokesman on behalf of children with disabilities and for spinal cord research, including a recent meeting with the Massachusetts state legislature in support of a pending bill which would make Massachusetts a "safe haven" for spinal cord research. The idea for the trip originated more than a year prior to the trip after a family "argument" when, despite protests from his father, a 4th grade Garrett insisted correctly that the capital of South Dakota was Pierre. That childhood state capitals lesson led to a month-long cross country odyssey by the then 10-year-old and his father to raise funds and awareness for spinal cord injuries and research.
BEANPOT BENEFIT GOLF TOURNAMENT: The 7th Annual Beanpot Benefit Golf Tournament will be held on October 20, 2003 at the exclusive Willowbend Golf Course in Mashpee, MA. NHL legend Bobby Orr will once again join Travis Roy in hosting the event which benefits the Travis Roy Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides grants to survivors of spinal cord paralysis based on financial need and supports spinal cord research.
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THE TRAVIS ROY FOUNDATION: The Travis Roy Foundation was founded in 1997 to assist spinal cord injured individuals purchase adaptive equipment and to fund spinal cord research. More than one million dollars in grants has been distributed, and any paraplegic or quadriplegic who has suffered a spinal cord injury is eligible to apply for an individual grant. A small Boston-based nonprofit with very little overhead, more than 99 cents of every dollar donated goes directly to the Foundation’s charitable purposes. The Internal Revenue Service recognizes the Foundation as a tax-exempt public charity, and contributions are deductible for federal income tax purposes.
For more information about Garrett's trip, please see the NESCI section of the Travis Roy Foundation web site.
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The Travis Roy Foundation is a publicly supported charitable fund qualifying under section
501(c)(3) & 170(b)(1)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code - Tax ID# 04-3327883