Northeast Passage at UNH Helps Disabled Enjoy Winter Sports
Since 1990, Northeast Passage, a nonprofit organization located at the University of New Hampshire, has served as an impact program to improve access, independence and quality of life for individuals with disabilities. The organization, whose motto is "Access Life Through Barrier Free Recreation," has twice received awards from the Federal Department of Education for its innovative recreation programs.
Northeast Passage's initiatives include: creating and organizing accessible, planned, outdoor adventures; developing and adapting sports equipment for the disabled; instruction in use of specialized sports equipment; resource referral and community advocacy and education; and research in quality-of-life programs for individuals with spinal cord injuries. Although the organization promotes year-round sports activities-- from kayaking to sled hockey to wheelchair softball to water skiing, just to name a few--its New England location offers special opportunities for winter sports. This year's winter sports schedule:
* January 10: Sled hockey at UNH in Durham, NH;
* January 17: Cross country skiing (U.S. disabled team members will be instructing), Sunday River in Newry, ME;
* January 30: Ski-a-thon fund raiser and alpine skiing clinic for mono- and bi-skiing, Attitash/Bear Peak, Bartlett, NH;
* February 20-21: Sled hockey clinic (U.S. Sled Hockey Team will be instructing), Portland and Falmouth, ME;
* March 3-7: Winter Weekend Vacation Event (cross-country skiing, ice fishing, skating, tubing, snowmobiling), Easter Seals Lodge, Glimanton, NH;
* March 13: Sled hockey at UNH in Durham, NH.
Jill Gravink, director of Northeast Passage says she believes there is a solution to every problem preventing independent access to recreation: "Since recreation has been proven to hold one of the keys to a positive, healthy and fulfilling life, all individuals, disabled or able-bodied, should have the freedom of recreational choices and opportunities to connect with themselves, their families, friends, and community and nature. We work in cooperation with other programs to create a strong network of accessible recreation, rather than a duplication of services."
Gravink adds that her organization's efforts are also geared toward creating permanent change. When working with a white-water-rafting company this past summer, for example, Gravink and her colleagues helped the company make its base lodges and buses accessible to disabled rafters, and provided equipment for the company to outfit its rafts for the disabled. "Every time we do something," she notes, "we want to leave a footprint."
Contact Jill Gravink at 603-862-0070, or Sharon Keeler in the UNH news bureau at 603-862-1566, or by e-mail [email protected]. The Northeast Passage Web site can be found at http://www.nepassage.org
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