By JOANNE L. PAPAIANNI
The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation is hosting an event to celebrate its accessibility initiative partnership with Asbury Park.
The event is scheduled for Thur., Aug. 16 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Asbury Festhalle and Biergarten, 527 Lake Ave.
The Reeve Foundation was started by actor Christopher Reeve and his wife Dana after he broke his neck in a horse riding accident rendering him a quadriplegic.
Anna Chamberlain, Communications and Marketing Supervisor, said the organization is partnering with Asbury Park in a new initiative to make the city as ADA compliant as possible.
The foundation has donated adaptive beach chairs to the city along with Moby Mats over the past few weeks.
“We want people living with paralysis to be able to use as much of the beach as possible. Get on the sand in the water,” she said.
Chamberlain said funds for the new equipment came from the Plangere Foundation.
The upcoming event, Chamberlain said, is a kickoff to promote the initiative and help it grow along with bringing businesses into the effort.
“We want to help bring more accessibility to Asbury Park, including the restaurants,” she said. “Get more people from the beach out into the town.”
Chamberlain said the foundation is hoping Asbury Park will serve as a model for cities across the state and even the nation for adaptive equipment and accessibility for people living with paralysis.
The organization promotes a summer safety checklist to help others avoid head and spinal injuries in accidents.
