For the tenth year, the Triumph Foundation will visit 15 hospitals and rehab centers as part of it’s annual Christmas care basket Outreach.

The December event allows the nonprofit to deliver resources, mentorship and a message of hope to patients that have suffered traumatic, paralyzing injuries.

Triumph plans to deliver 100 of its care baskets to individuals and families that are spending their holiday facing tragedy.  

Triumph’s peer-mentor “ambassadors” provide information and guidance to help someone adjust to life after injury.  In addition to resources, the care baskets include gifts and goodies to bring cheer to its recipients who are in the hospital.

The organization will visit children, adults and veterans at locations that include Long Beach VA Hospital, Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center, Northridge Hospital, St. Jude Medical Center, Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital, Casa Colina Centers for Rehabilitation and Sharp Memorial Hospital.

“Being in the hospital is never easy, but it is especially difficult for people during the holiday season,” said Andrew Skinner, Triumph Foundation’s founder, who suffered a spinal cord injury in a snowboarding accident in November 2004. “I spent my Christmas in the hospital, so it’s near and dear to my heart.”

The care baskets provide tools to get a jump-start on rebuilding a life after trauma, previous recipients said.  

“Triumph Foundation’s care baskets are like a toolkit to help someone rebuild their life after becoming paralyzed,” said Kirsten Skinner, who was with her husband when he got injured and has stayed with him every step of the way. “Their injury affects everyone around them: family, friends, loved ones and the entire community.”

Her husband has made a remarkable recovery, and wants others with similar injuries to triumph like him.  

“I have come so far from where I was initially,” he said. “Now, I have a wonderful wife and daughter and am living the American dream, despite my physical impairment.  I want to help others do the same.”

To raise funds, the organization is holding its Eat-for-a-Cause fundraiser on Thursday, Dec. 7, at the Route 66 Classic Grill, located at 18730 Soledad Canyon Rd, Santa Clarita, California 91351 from 5 p.m. – 10 p.m.  

Monetary donations can be made by clicking here or can be mailed to Triumph Foundation, located at 17186 Hickory Ridge Court, Santa Clarita CA 91387.

Contributions will ensure Triumph Foundation can continue to provide critical support services to people who suffer paralyzing injuries and are dealing with a disability. All donations are tax deductible.

About Triumph Foundation

Triumph Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to help children, adults, and Veterans with Spinal Cord Injury/Disorders to triumph over their disability and to inspire them to keep moving forward with their lives by pushing themselves to get better every day.

Services include giving people who are newly paralyzed Care Baskets that are filled with information and resources; providing grants to help obtain necessary equipment, supplies, and services; assisting with home modifications for wheelchair accessibility; leading support groups; and holding adaptive recreational programs to support disabled athletes. Outreach and peer support is provided throughout Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Bernardino, Riverside, Kern, and San Diego Counties.

To date, the organization has touched the lives of over 5,000 individuals with disabilities; given $500,000 in assistance to people with inadequate medical insurance and financial hardship; performed ten accessible home remodels; provided wheelchair accessible vehicles to eight individuals who did not have the means to purchase one on their own; delivered over 1,500 Care Baskets full of resources to those newly injured; and regularly visits 18 area hospitals and rehabilitation centers throughout Southern California.

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