Sam Sullivan Disability Foundation

Last updated

The Sam Sullivan Disability Foundation, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, administers six affiliated societies that provide services for people with physical disabilities.

Contents

History

The Disability Foundation was formed by quadriplegic Sam Sullivan as the Reach Disability Foundation in June 1996 to provide services for people with physical disabilities. [1] It was renamed in December 2001 [2] following a legal challenge by a similarly named organization in Ottawa.

Sullivan resigned as executive director of the Disability Foundation and its affiliated organizations in 2005 when he was elected Mayor of Vancouver. Following his term of office, he was invited to sit on the board of directors in early 2009. The Disability Foundation board of directors has been chaired since its 1996 inception by Vancouver-based businessman Peter Jefferson. [3]

In recognition of his service to people with disabilities, Sullivan was invested as a member of the Order of Canada in 2005 and is also a recipient of the Terry Fox Award and the Christopher and Dana Reeve Award.

On February 25, 2010, Sam Sullivan was announced Canada's ambassador for the 2010 Winter Paralympics, held in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia, between March 12 and March 21, 2010. [4]

Societies

The Sam Sullivan Disability Foundation comprises six affiliated societies:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paralympic Games</span> Major international sport event for people with disabilities

The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the Games of the Paralympiad, is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, are held almost immediately following the respective Olympic Games. All Paralympic Games are governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metro Vancouver Regional District</span> Regional district in British Columbia, Canada

The Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD), or simply Metro Vancouver, is a Canadian political subdivision and corporate entity representing the metropolitan area of Greater Vancouver, designated by provincial legislation as one of the 28 regional districts in British Columbia. The organization was known as the Regional District of Fraser–Burrard for nearly one year upon incorporating in 1967, and as the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) from 1968 to 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rick Hansen</span> Canadian track and field athlete

Richard Marvin Hansen is a Canadian track and field athlete, activist, and philanthropist for people with disabilities. Following a pickup truck crash at the age of 15, Hansen sustained a spinal cord injury and became a paraplegic. Hansen is most famous for his Man in Motion World Tour, in which he circled the globe in a wheelchair to raise funds for charity. He was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 2006. He was one of the final torchbearers in the 1988 Winter Olympics and the 2010 Winter Olympics. He was profiled and spoke during the 2010 Winter Paralympics opening ceremony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Sullivan</span> Canadian politician, Mayor of Vancouver

Sam Sullivan is a Canadian politician who had served as the MLA for Vancouver-False Creek. Previously, he served as the Minister of Communities, Sport and Cultural Development with responsibility for Translink in the short-lived BC Liberal government after the 2017 election, as well as the 38th mayor of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and has been invested as a member of the Order of Canada. He is currently President of the Global Civic Policy Society and adjunct professor with the UBC School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wheelchair curling</span> Curling played by people in wheelchairs

Wheelchair curling is an adaptation of curling for athletes with a disability affecting their lower limbs or gait. Wheelchair curling is governed by the World Curling Federation, and is one of the sports in the Winter Paralympic Games.

Special Olympics Canada is a national organization founded in 1969 to help people with intellectual disabilities develop self-confidence and social skills through sports training and competition.

Spinal Cord Injury BC is a not-for-profit organization that helps people with spinal cord injuries and related injuries adjust, adapt and thrive by providing answers, information and community experiences in the Canadian province of British Columbia.

The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) was the non-profit organization responsible for planning, organizing, financing and staging the 2010 Winter Olympics and 2010 Winter Paralympics. Established on September 30, 2003, about four months after the 2010 games were awarded to Vancouver, British Columbia, it performed these roles with "the mandate to support and promote the development of sport in Canada."

British Columbia Mobility Opportunities Society (BCMOS) is a not-for-profit organization that enables people with disabilities in Vancouver, Canada, to explore the outdoors. Activities include hiking and gliding.

Adaptive Sailing Association of British Columbia (ASABC), formerly called the Disabled Sailing Association, is a Canadian not-for-profit organization that enables people with disabilities to take part in a sport it promotes as "accessible and inclusive." It is located in Vancouver, BC, and has affiliated branches in Victoria, Chemainus and Kelowna.

Tetra Society of North America is a not-for-profit organization that provides volunteer engineers across Canada and the US to design and construct custom assistive devices for people with disabilities.

Vancouver Adapted Music Society (VAMS) is a not-for-profit organization that encourages, supports and promotes musicians with physical disabilities in Vancouver, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 Winter Paralympics torch relay</span>

The 2010 Winter Paralympics Torch Relay was a 10-day event leading up to the 2010 Winter Paralympic Games in Vancouver. It began on March 3, 2010, in Ottawa and concluded at the Games' opening ceremony on March 12. Held entirely within Canada, the host country, it has been described by the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games as "an important event to connect Canadians to the Games", by "demonstrating the fire inside each individual and how it inspires others".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Steadward</span> Canadian sports administrator

Robert Daniel Steadward, is a Canadian retired sports administrator, professor, sports scientist, and author. Steadward helped organize the first Canadian wheelchair sport national championships in 1968, and later coached Canada in wheelchair basketball at the Summer Paralympics. He became a professor at the University of Alberta in 1971, later served as chairman of the Department of Athletics, and published more than 150 papers about disability sport. He was the founding president of the Alberta Wheelchair Sports Association in 1971, founded the Research and Training Centre for Athletes with Disabilities in 1978, served as president of the Canadian Paralympic Committee from 1984 to 1990, and later became a member of the Canadian Olympic Committee.

The opening ceremony of the 2010 Winter Paralympics, or the X Paralympic Games were held on March 12, 2010 beginning at 6:00 pm PST at the BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The opening ceremony's theme was "One Inspires Many", and featured over 5000 local performers. The 2 hour long ceremony was produced by Vancouver-based Patrick Roberge Productions Inc

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Birch (electrical engineer)</span>

Dr. Gary Birch, is a Canadian Paralympian, an expert in brain–computer interface (BCI) technology and executive director of the Neil Squire Society. In 1975, Dr. Birch was involved in an automobile accident which resulted in injuries to the C6 and C7 area of his spine making him a low-level quadriplegic. He was one of the original players of Murderball, and won several medals in the 1980 Summer Paralympics in the Netherlands. In 2008, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada. He continues to champion accessibility through his Research and Development work in assistive technologies at the University of British Columbia, the Rick Hansen Institute, and the Neil Squire Society.

Marion Beverly Lay, is a former competitive swimmer who represented Canada in the 1964 Summer Olympics and 1968 Summer Olympics. Swimming the anchor leg for Canada's third-place team in the women's 4x100-metre freestyle relay, she won an Olympic bronze medal, together with teammates Angela Coughlan, Marilyn Corson and Elaine Tanner.

Wheelchair curling classification is the disability classification system for wheelchair curling, which is governed by the World Curling Federation. Only curlers with lower limb mobility problems are allowed to compete.

Disabled Wintersport Australia (DWA) was established in 1978 as the Australian Disabled Skiers Federation. Its current mission is "to promote and foster the advancement of participation by people with a disability in wintersport both in Australia and overseas". DWA is a member of the Australian Paralympic Committee. DWA plays a major role in the development of Australian athletes that compete at the Winter Paralympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carla Qualtrough</span> Canadian politician and former Paralympic swimmer

Carla Dawn Qualtrough is a Canadian politician and former Paralympic swimmer who is the minister of employment, workforce development and disability inclusion since 2019. Qualtrough has sat as the member of Parliament (MP) for Delta since she was first elected in 2015, as a member of the Liberal Party. She served as minister of public services and procurement and accessibility from 2017 to 2019, and minister of sport and persons with disabilities from 2015 to 2017.

References

  1. Sam Sullivan, still reaching, New Mobility, Retrieved February 8, 2010.
  2. Canada Gazette, March 2, 2002
  3. Disability Foundation, Retrieved February 8, 2010.
  4. Government of Canada Announces Canada's Paralympic Ambassador and Invests in the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games, wire media release, February 25, 2010.