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The Sabrina Cohen Foundation (SCF) re-opened its Adaptive Beach Days program on Sunday, July 11, after an 18-month hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The special kickoff event was attended by several local and state leaders and featured a check ceremony for a $41,000 donation from the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation National Paralysis Resource Center to the SCF. This recent grant, coupled with past support from the Reeve Foundation brings its support of SCF to $150,000, which has served as the seed money to launch the Adaptive Beach Days program in 2016 and will help continue the program in the months ahead.
To date, SCF has welcomed 8,000 residents throughout South Florida and tourists from all over the world to experience beach access like never before, catering to people living with paralysis and various disabilities, along with their families and friends.
“I’m so excited to get our community back on the beach, and experience the freedom and joy associated with being in the water, after waiting for a year and a half,” said SCF founder Sabrina Cohen. “The continued support from community leaders and organizations including the Christopher Reeve Foundation is inspiring and validates the importance of this movement.”
Because of its success, today, the SCF in partnership with the City of Miami Beach is expanding from “pop-up” programming to building an Adaptive Fitness & Recreation Center, which will be a first-of-its-kind oceanfront facility on the east coast catering exclusively to individuals with mobility challenges. The center will combine indoor and beachside physical fitness with recreational activities that promote mental and spiritual wellness in one central, safe and comfortable location.
The center, designed by renowned Architect Kobi Karb, was just awarded a $2.5 million matching grant from the city for the capital campaign to build the facility.
“The Reeve Foundation is proud to offer the support needed to help alleviate the physical, mental, and behavioral effects related to the isolation brought on by the pandemic,” said Mark Bogosian, director, Quality of Life Grants Program, Reeve Foundation.
Adaptive Beach Days will take place every second Sunday of the month July-November, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., at 6475 Collins Ave., Miami Beach. For more information on the Adaptive Beach Days and how you can support SCF, visit sabrinacohenfoundation.org.
