The Travis Roy Foundation (TRF) has been a part of Alyson’s life since she was a student at Tabor Academy – Travis’ alma mater. A few years later, one of her friends participated in a charity MMA (mixed martial arts) fight and donated all the benefits to TRF. Soon after, Alyson was introduced to TRF’s Executive Director Marge Oppold, and began volunteering as a graphic designer for the foundation while studying at Northeastern University.
However, her familiarity with people living with spinal cord injuries came before she was even born, when her uncle suffered a serious injury that left him paralyzed from the neck down. He was only in high school. “I couldn’t believe how it all came full circle,” she says of her work with TRF. “The foundation hits home for me on a personal level.”
Of all that she has accomplished since she began volunteering for the organization, she is most proud of her work on the TRF marketing kits, and creating the new TRF logo for the 15th anniversary of the foundation in 2013. “I was still in school when Marge and Travis came to me, but they put their trust in me to build a new logo and rebrand TRF. They are so easy to work with, and it was really fun.”
In addition to working behind-the-scenes for the foundation, Alyson has also attended the annual Wiffle Ball Tournament in Vermont, and has met Travis out in Boston for dinner. “Travis is so optimistic; he gives me the inspiration for what I’m going to do. The foundation is all about promoting positivity for people who are moving forward from something that is so life-changing. He really sticks to his philosophy to Help Others Move Forward, and it makes me want to help out and want to do more.”
Alyson is currently working on the foundation’s Annual Report, and is completing her final co-op through Northeastern University at an advertising agency in New York. After graduation, she hopes to stay in the Boston area and continue working in marketing and advertising.