Travis Roy Foundation Home Page

April 2005

trio of first-time Boston marathoners take

to the road in support of the first five project

Funds Raised Will Benefit the Travis Roy Foundation Supported Initiative

BOSTON, MA – Susan Marshall, Barbie Campbell and Jane Bagley will be pounding the pavement for a good cause on April 18 as they participate in their first Boston Marathon. The trio will be running in honor of Jack Shadduck, In May 2002, Jack, then 13, was struck with Transverse Myelitis, a rare inflammation of the spinal column, that left the Massachusetts native a quadriplegic – paralyzed from the neck down and unable even to breathe without the support of a ventilator. On April 13-15, 2004, he "bicycled" 26.2 miles – completing the same distance as the thousands of runners of the Boston Marathon. A participant in the Travis Roy Foundation initiative the First Five Project, Shadduck completed his marathon on the project's FES bike.

Marshall, Campbell and Bagley will use their entrance into the famed marathon as a fund-raiser to support the First Five Project, which has so greatly benefited their friend Jack Shadduck. They have begun accepting pledges in support of their run and weeks prior to the event, had already raised more than $8,000 towards their goal of $10,000.

FIRST FIVE PROJECT: The First Five Project consists of a high intensity, focused exercise program for motivated spinal cord injured adolescents and adults with quadriplegia. Program participants work out three times a week at the Massachusetts Hospital School in Canton, Massachusetts with a registered nurse and an athletic trainer. The purposes of the First Five Project are health promotion, functional improvement, and reduction of complications. The long-term goal is to establish a program that is open to any spinal cord injured person who is interested in participating. The pilot program concluded in the spring of 2004, and Phase II launched in September 2004 with a total of eight participants. Organizers are currently seeking funding to expand the program to include more participants.

TRAVIS ROY FOUNDATION: The Travis Roy Foundation was founded in 1997 to help spinal cord injury survivors purchase adaptive and medical equipment as well as 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. Donations are tax deductible and may be made online or mailed to Travis Roy Foundation, 111 Huntington Avenue at Prudential Center, Boston, MA 02219. Information about the Travis Roy Foundation can be found online at www.travisroyfoundation.org or by calling Foundation Administrator Brenda Taylor at 617-239-0556.

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