Christopher Reeve Foundation Announces Wilmer Valderrama to Serve as Foundation Ambassador

SHORT HILLS, N.J., June 15 /PRNewswire/ -- The Christopher Reeve Foundation (CRF) today announced that popular film and television actor and producer Wilmer Valderrama will serve as a Foundation celebrity ambassador, helping to spread awareness of CRF's mission. In addition to helping CRF build awareness in a younger demographic, Valderrama will reach out to the Hispanic communities by serving as a spokesperson for the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Resource Center's (PRC) minority outreach campaign. The PRC, a program of the Christopher Reeve Foundation, provides information services to people and their families nationwide who are living with paralysis.

"I have admired Christopher Reeve since childhood, not only for everything he represented onscreen, but his strength of character off-screen," said Valderrama. "I am proud to represent the Foundation that Chris and his wife Dana developed and to directly help those living with paralysis and their loved ones. I look forward to helping spread the word about all of the invaluable resources that the CRF and PRC have to offer."

"Wilmer's devoted spirit and caring attitude are just the right fit for the PRC," said Joseph Canose, Vice President, Quality of Life at CRF. "We are thrilled to welcome Wilmer as not only a friend of the Foundation, but as an advocate of paralysis health promotion."

When Valderrama arrived in the United States from Venezuela at the age of 13, he did not speak a word of English. However, drama classes helped shape his language, and he soon began performing in plays and commercials. Best known for his role as 'Fez' on the hit television sitcom "That 70's Show," Wilmer is currently producing and hosting "Yo Momma," a new MTV reality show that in its first full season reached 61 million viewers and ranked #1 in its time period among 12-24 year olds across all of television. Wilmer will soon be seen in the upcoming films, "Unaccompanied Minors," "CHiPs," and "Fast Food Nation," one of only three American films chosen to compete for the coveted Palme d'Or award at this year's Cannes film festival.

About CRF

The Christopher Reeve Foundation is dedicated to finding treatments and cures for spinal cord injury by funding innovative research, and improving the lives of people living with paralysis through grants, information and advocacy. For more information, please visit http://www.christopherreeve.org/ or call 800-225-0292.

The Minority Communities Outreach Campaign is a public awareness initiative of the Christopher & Dana Reeve Paralysis Resource Center (PRC), a program of the Christopher Reeve Foundation, formed through a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This campaign aims to increase awareness of, and access to, the PRC and its services among the Hispanic, African-American, Asian-American/Pacific Islander and Native American communities in the United States, and to promote informed health care decisions and active and independent living among these minority groups, thus positively impacting their quality of life. The PRC provides information services to people and their families nationwide who are living with paralysis. For more information on the PRC, please visit http://www.paralysis.org/.