info@sciboston.org                    www.sciboston.org

 

Friend,

Happy New Year! We hope 2021 brings everyone good health, happiness, and time spent with loved ones. 

A couple of weeks ago, we had our virtual holiday party. We would like to thank everyone that joined us on Zoom! Congratulations to Mary for winning the Ugly Sweater Contest and congratulations to the raffle winners! We hope our 2021 holiday party will be an in-person gathering!

We would like to officially welcome Heidi Estrada and introduce her as the GBC's Community Involvement Coordinator. Heidi will manage our community based peer mentors, support groups, social events, among other programs. All of our programming is virtual right now but we look forward to bringing back our in-person events! During 2020, we were very fortunate to expand the support and resources we offer to our members and are thrilled to have Heidi as the newest member of our GBC team!

Lastly, we would like to invite you to check out the 'Exciting News' section below. We have included some press releases from the past couple of months that we would like to share. Also, be sure to look at the new items in the for sale/donation section below as well.

Happy New Year from all of us at the GBC!

Heather Wood
Executive Director
heather@sciboston.org

In this newsletter:

  • Exciting News
  • Advocacy Update
  • A Good Read
  • SCI Watch
  • Group Information
  • For Sale/Donations
  • GBC YouTube
  • Event Flyers

Upcoming Events: 

  • Virtual Discussion Groups via Zoom! All Meeting Information below. Women's, Nutrition & SCI, Significant Other's, Grupo de Apoyo en Español!, Newly Injured, After Dark: Wives & Girlfriends, After Dark: Men with SCI/D, SCI/D Discussion, and Family Social Hour.
  • Spinal Source: MobilityWorks, Janurary 16th, 2021, 11am-1pm;

    Eric Lajeunesse will be joining us from MobilityWorks to talk about adaptive driving equipment, vehicle modification and vehicles that are available! Click here for the zoom information!

We do not, and have never, charged for our services. We rely on donations, sponsors and grants to fund our peer programs.

 If we made a difference in your life or that of someone you love, consider a gift to allow us to continue to assist others as we assisted you.

Helpful Websites

United Spinal Association Resources and Webinars

Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation Resources and Webinars

Informative Webinars: Living with an SCI

Facing Disabilities: for families facing spinal cord injuries

New Mobility Magazine

Spaulding New England Regional SCI Model System

ReUse DME Website: Refurbished Durable Medical Equipment

 Northwest Regional Spinal Cord Injury System Informative Webinars 

AbleThrive: Curated Content Just for You

 

Exciting News!

GBC Names Chris Hoeh as 2020 Elmer Bartels Leadership Award Recipient and Diane &  Ron DeRoche are 2020 GBC Honorees of the Year
The Greater Boston Chapter (GBC) of United Spinal Association held its 2020 Virtual Fundraiser in November where the organization presented the 2nd annual Elmer Bartels Leadership Award to Christopher Hoeh of Jamaica Plain and the GBC Honoree of the Year Award to Diane and Ron DeRoche of Melrose. Click here to read the press release!
 
Robert Kraft and the Patriots Foundation donate $275,000 in the names of 2020 Myra Kraft Community MVP Award winners
Ryan DeRoche was one of the recipients of the 2020 Myra Craft Community MVP Award. Click here to read the full press release!
 
Heather Wood appointed as Executive Director of Greater Boston Chapter of United Spinal Association
The Greater Boston Chapter of United Spinal Association (GBC), a Woburn-based non profit that provides support for individuals and their families, who have suffered a spinal cord injury or disorder announced that Heather Wood has been appointed as Executive Director by their Board of Directors. Click here to read the full press release!
 

Advocacy update

Telehealth, MassHealth dental, COVID-19 relief priorities, and how to file an access complaint are all on this month’s advocacy update. Click the button below for the full monthly advocacy update!

Interested in getting notifications about our advocacy efforts or being an advocate on the state or national level? Sign up here to receive email alerts from our advocacy representatives Pam and Chris!

 

A Good Read

It was very hard to choose from all of the great articles found on New Mobility's site at the moment so here's the link to their home page. Grab a cup of something delicious and your favorite blanket and take some time to enjoy these good reads! Click the button to read the all the amazing articles!

 

SCI Watch

Run 

One of the articles on New Mobility is about Run. Take a peek at their thoughts on this ground-breaking movie...and here is my quick take on the film:

When I first heard about this movie I was excited that they cast someone with a disability in the starring role. I was also excited that Sarah Paulson was playing the antagonist. I am a big fan of her roles in American Horror Story. 

This movie does a great job of juggling various issues such as mental and physical disabilities. The opening scene you learn a lot about the antagonist and what her motivations might be in only a few lines. But you do not learn the depths of those motivations. One of the things that I really liked about this movie was how similar it is to the movie/book Misery, written by Stephen King. The viewer is led to believe one thing while the dark, sinister situation is lurking just below the surface and is slowly revealed. There's a great amount of tension and suspense throughout this short movie, which is exactly what I was looking for! I highly recommend this movie if that's what you're looking for as well. I will say anxiety did pick a couple of times, so be forewarned. It has a great ending in that it's not what I was expecting! I couldn't give it a perfect score because it felt a little bit rushed. There were a few aspects that they could have spent some more time on.

I give this movie 4.5 vertebrae out of 5.
 

Virtual Discussion Groups

Join us for one or more of our virtual support groups that meet your needs as an individual, family member, or significant other affected by a spinal cord injury or disorder (SCI/D). Our many virtual groups offer opportunities for open discussion, support, and resources. Click the button below to access more information and the zoom links!

For Sale/Donation

Are you looking for or do you have Durable Medical Equipment, Assitive Technology, Adapted Vehicles or an Accessible Home for sale? Send us pictures and information about the item(s) to info@sciboston.org and we will post it on our website and social media. *PLEASE NOTE WE ARE NOT THE SELLER AND DO NOT HAVE POSSESSION OF THE ITEMS. WE PURELY POST ITEMS TO CONNECT SELLERS WITH INTERESTED BUYERS.

Click the button below to see what's currently available!

Our YouTube Channel

We would like to invite you to check out our YouTube channel! We have already uploaded a few videos including some of our Spinal Source Educational Webcasts and History of Portraiture in Art Part I and II taught by our very own Brogan Joe Murphy! If you missed any of those events and would like to check them out, they're available now! Make sure to subscribe to the channel to get updated when new videos are uploaded and it would help us out if you liked and commented on the videos too. Click the button below to watch!

 
 
 
 
 

Greater Boston Chapter of United Spinal Association
2 Rehabilitation Way  | Woburn, Massachusetts 01801
(617) 952-5643 | info@sciboston.org

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