OPAF NEWS FLASH: OPAF receives grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service

OPAF NEWS FLASH: OPAF receives grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service

Jeffrey S. Reznick, Ph.D.

11/7/2002

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 7, 2002
Contact: Tamara Bibby
(202) 223-2878

OPAF receives grant from the Corporation for National and Community
Service

(Read this accouncement online at:
<URL Redacted>)

Washington, DC - The Orthotic and Prosthetic Assistance Fund (OPAF) has
received a grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service
to create a new educational project under the umbrella of the OPAF
Washington DC Community Initiative.

The Corporation for National and Community Service provides
opportunities for Americans of all ages and backgrounds to serve their
communities and country through three programs: Senior Corps,
AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America. Working with national and
community nonprofits, faith-based groups, schools, and local agencies,
the Corporation engages more than two million Americans each year in
meeting critical needs in education, the environment, public safety,
homeland security, and other areas. The Corporation and its programs are
part of USA Freedom Corps, a White House initiative to foster a culture
of citizenship, service and responsibility, and help all Americans
answer the President's Call to Service.

OPAF was one of 80 groups nationwide to be selected in a grant
competition that recognizes community service related to Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. and the Dr. Martin Luther Jr. King national holiday. The
Corporation is charged by Congress to support local efforts to make the
King Holiday a day on, not a day off - a day of service to meet local
community needs.

Service was at the heart of Dr. King's philosophy. Everybody can be
great because everybody can serve, King said, urging Americans to take
action to improve people's lives. In recognition of that spirit,
Congress in 1994 passed the King Holiday and Service Act. Since then,
millions of Americans have paid homage to the slain leader by serving in
projects ranging from stocking food pantries to planting community
gardens to training tutors for inner-city schools.

OPAF's award from the Corporation allows the organization to express the
spirit of service as it is represented and supported by the U.S.
orthotics and prosthetics community.

There is no better way to honor the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr. than by serving others, said Leslie Lenkowsky, CEO of the
Corporation. Last year President Bush called on all Americans to devote
two years over the course of their lives to service. OPAF is helping
achieve a dream of both Martin Luther King and President Bush - to
create active citizens and caring communities.

The greatest birthday gift my husband could receive is if people of all
racial and ethnic backgrounds celebrated the holiday by performing
individual acts of kindness through service to others, said Coretta
Scott King, founder of the King Center.

Through support from the Corporation for National and Community Service,
OPAF will create a Martin Luther King, Jr.-related educational
initiative alongside its established opportunity for diverse groups of
young people who are undergoing physical rehabilitation at the Hospital
for Sick Children (HSC) in Washington, DC.

Beginning on the Martin Luther King holiday, January 20, 2003, and
running through June, OPAF and its DC-area volunteers will work with HSC
staff to provide weekly educational activities that engage the subjects
of peace, diversity, tolerance, and human rights as reflected in the
words of Dr. King. Through creation of a unique learning environment
with the hospital setting, OPAF will help to bring to HSC's young
patients social interaction and degrees of learning and personal
achievement that they might not otherwise encounter during the course of
rehabilitation.

The OPAF Washington DC Community Initiative furthers the mission of OPAF
to help raise public awareness of the benefits that individuals with
physical disabilities receive from physical activity and assistive
technology, especially orthoses and prostheses.

As the OPAF Washington DC Community Initiative takes its new shape
through support from the Corporation for National and Community Service,
OPAF will be designing a format that will allow the project to be
replicated in other communities across the United States.

The Orthotic and Prosthetic Assistance Fund is a nonprofit organization,
a 501(c)(3) public charity, established in 1995 by the Orthotic and
Prosthetic National Office. Dedicated initially to providing financial
and in-kind support to the 1996 Paralympics, the Fund now generates its
own initiatives through partnerships with individuals, organizations and
institutions engaged in raising public awareness of disability and
improving the quality of rehabilitation medicine, science and
technology.

As the official philanthropy of the U.S, orthotic and prosthetic
community, OPAF aims primarily to enable individuals with physical
disabilities - especially those served by members of the orthotics and
prosthetics community - to enjoy the rewards of personal achievement,
physical fitness, and social interaction.

For morel information about the Orthotic and Prosthetic Assistance Fund,
Inc., visit www.opfund.org.

For more information about the Corporation for National and Community
Service, visit www.nationalservice.org.

For more information about the Martin Luther King Day of Service, visit
www.mlkday.org.

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