Military Connection: Earn Grants for Adaptive Sports: By Debbie Gregory

Recently, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced the availability of up to $8 million in grant funding for organizations that provide adaptive sports opportunities for local disabled Veterans.

The grants will allow those who provide adaptive sports programs with the ability to expand the quality and quantity of the activities for disabled Veterans and disabled service members in their communities. The ASG program is also intended to generate more advanced Paralympic and adaptive sport programs at the regional and national levels.

This means that eligible organizations in the community can apply for grants to support local Veterans. Grants can be awarded to qualified applicant organizations for instruction, participation and competition in adaptive sports. The grants can also be used for training and assisting coaches, instructors, administrators and therapists in conjunction with adaptive sports. Monies can also go to coordinating Paralympic classification of athletes, sports training and development programs, and issuing adaptive sports equipment and other activities related to adaptive sports programs.

Participation in adaptive sports help Veterans redefine their capabilities, and are crucial to the success of their rehabilitation. Therefore, it is vital to ensure that adaptive sports programs can be made available to disabled Veterans and service members in their communities. Grant funding through the ASG Program is designed to make this happen.

To be eligible for federal contracts and grants, organizations must have a DUNS Number and a System for Award Management (SAM) account.

To apply for an ASG Program grant, eligible organizations must submit a proposal based on the instructions provided on the VA website’s Adaptive Sports portal. For details, please contact Michael Welch, Paralympic Program Specialist, 202-632-7136, Michael.Welch5@va.gov.

The deadline for submitting grant proposals is Aug. 11, 2014.

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