Bend woman gets winter adaptive sports grant
High Fives Foundation – Winter Empowerment programservice disburses board-approved grants to disabled athletes participating in winter adaptive sports. In September, the Foundation’s Board of Directors Grant Selection Committee approved a grant for Winter Empowerment Athlete Danielle Watson totaling $1,163.
The September grant awarded to Watson will be used for travel, lessons and program fees at the Outdoors for All adaptive ski camp at Crystal Mountain in Enumclaw, Wash. September’s grant marks the second board-approved grant that Watson has received since becoming a High Fives Athlete in September of last year.
About Danielle Watson
Watson suffered a life-altering injury in June 2011 when she fell 300 feet while rock climbing outside of Bend, Ore. The fall resulted in a broken femur, pelvis, ankles and her L-1 and T-6 vertebra leaving Watson paralyzed from the chest down.
Since her 2011 injury, Watson has remained goal oriented with a positive attitude. Growing up in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, she has taken advantage of nature her entire life.
Watson’s current goal is to grow her skills as an adaptive mono-skier, and continue to enjoy the mountains.
Her goals reach beyond sports as well. Watson is currently enrolled in graduate school for Occupational Therapy so she can give back to the community that rallied around her when she suffered her injury.
Watson received her first board-approved grant for $2,658in September 2013 for travel to the Ladies Adaptive Sports Camp in Crested Butte, Colo., personal training at Triumph Fitness in Redmond, and a season pass to Mount Bachelor in Bend.
The High Fives Foundation Winter Empowerment Grant awarded to Danielle in 2013 helped kick-start her plan to become a competitive adaptive ski racer, with the ultimate goal of making the United States Paralympic Team. The 2014 grant for $1,163will be used for more lessons at Crystal Mountain and to return to the Ladies Adaptive Sports Camp in Crested Butte, CO bringing the grant total to $3,821.
Since the organization’s January 2009 inception, the Winter Empowerment programservicehas assisted 65 athletes from 19 states in nine respective funding categories which include: living expenses, insurance, travel, health, healing network, adaptive equipment, winter equipment, programs and stoke (positive energy, outlook and attitude).
In 2014, the High Fives Foundation has set a budget of disbursing $196,000 via board-approved grants through the Winter Empowerment Fund. Thus far in 2014, 26 High Fives Athletes and two organizations have been awarded a sum of 30 board-approved grants for a total of $210,000.
