Brain Injury Association Partners with ABC Anchor Bob Woodruff to Assist Brain-Injured Veterans

McLEAN, Va., Feb. 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) has entered into a partnership with ABC Anchor Bob Woodruff and his family to raise awareness of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and to administer the newly created Bob Woodruff Family Fund for TBI to assist servicemen and women and their families affected by the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. The announcement was made today by Susan Connors, president and CEO of the Brain Injury Association of America.

Mr. Woodruff sustained a serious brain injury as a result of an improvised explosive device while on assignment for ABC News in Iraq in January 2006. Although he received superior care, Bob, his wife Lee, and their extended family recognize that many individuals with brain injury do not receive the services and supports needed to regain their independence. They also understand the lack of funding in the public, private and military sectors, and they want to help.

Bob Woodruff Family Fund for TBI

In an effort to "give back" to the people who saved Bob's life, the family has established the Bob Woodruff Family Fund for TBI (http://www.bobwoodrufffamilyfund.org/). The Fund will raise money through events and other activities. Donations will be used to make grants to nonprofit organizations serving members of the military who have sustained a TBI. In some circumstances, funds may be used to provide direct financial assistance to military personnel and their families and/or grants for medical research, public education, awareness and prevention of TBI.

Brain Injury Awareness Month Reports

Woodruff will also file a series of reports for ABC's World News Tonight, Good Morning America and Nightline throughout the month of March. The reports will cover various aspects of brain injury and will include some of the individuals featured in BIAA's Brain Injury Awareness Month campaign, "Living with Brain Injury: As Diverse as We Are."

"We are honored to assist Bob and Lee as they embark upon their mission to assist returning veterans with TBI and their families," said Connors. "Their actions are a rallying point for both military and non-military TBI survivors and their families to finally receive the kind of support and cognitive treatment services they so desperately need."

About the Brain Injury Association of America

Founded in 1980, the mission of the Brain Injury Association of America is to create a better future through brain injury prevention, research, education and advocacy. BIAA and its nationwide network of state affiliates, chapters and support groups represent the 5.3 million Americans who live with a lifelong disability as a result of traumatic brain injury, as well as their families and the researchers, clinicians and professionals who provide treatment and long-term care. For more information about brain injury or the BIAA, visit http://www.biausa.org/.