Kelly Brush Foundation Launches Injury Prevention Campaign

Ski Clubs Receive Safety Grants

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt., Feb. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Kelly Brush Foundation announced the launch of its national campaign to improve ski racing safety and prevent spinal cord injury (SCI) with a $35,000 round of grants to ski clubs across the country. The program is the first of its kind both in scope and in targeting safety in the sport of ski racing.

The foundation awarded grants ranging from $250 to $2,000 to individual ski clubs and racing organizations from Vermont to California to Alaska. In all, 40 grants totaling $35,000 were awarded.

"Promoting ski racing safety is at the heart of the Kelly Brush Foundation's mission," said Kelly Brush, the foundation's founder, a senior at Middlebury College in Vermont who sustained a spinal cord injury in 2006 during NCAA Div. 1 ski competition. "By going directly to the sport's ground level -- the clubs where young athletes come up -- these grants raise awareness about the importance of safety and SCI prevention in ski racing and give clubs the resources to make improvements."

Recipients included the Mount Mansfield Ski Club in Stowe, Vt., Vail Ski Club in Vail, Colo., and Squaw Valley Ski Team in Olympic Valley, Calif.

The money was earmarked for purchasing safety equipment such as specialized netting used to line race courses and protective gear for individual racers, such as back protectors. In addition, the U.S. Ski Team received a grant that will be used to produce an educational video on best practices for installing safety netting that will be made available to coaches, officials and clubs.

About the foundation: The Kelly Brush Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving ski racing safety, enhancing the quality of life for those with spinal cord injury(SCI) through providing adaptive sports equipment, advancing scientific research on SCI, and supporting the U.S. Disabled Ski Team. Kelly Brush, together with her family, started the foundation in 2006 after she sustained a severe spinal cord injury while racing in NCAA Div. 1 competition as a member of the Middlebury College Ski Team in Vermont. The Kelly Brush Foundation affirms Kelly's ongoing commitment to live life on her own terms and better the lives of others living with SCI. www.kellybrushfoundation.org

KELLY BRUSH FOUNDATION GRANT RECIPIENTS 2007

(for full list see www.kellybrushfoundation.org)

Alyeska Ski Club, Girdwood, Alaska

Mammoth Mountain Ski Team, Mammoth Lakes, Calif.

Squaw Valley Ski Team, Olympic Valley, Calif.

Aspen Ski Club, Aspen, Colo.

Vail Ski Club, Vail, Colo.

Gould Sunday River Program, Bethel, Maine

Buck Hill Ski Club, Burnsville, Minn.

Dartmouth Ski Team, Hanover, N.H.

Waterville Valley BBTS, Waterville Valley, N.H.

Park City Ski Education Foundation, Park City, Utah

Burke Mountain Academy, East Burke, Vt.

Green Mountain Valley School, Waitsfield, Vt.

Killington Mountain School, Killington, Vt.

Middlebury Ski Team, Middlebury, Vt.

Mount Mansfield Ski Club, Stowe, Vt.

Jackson Hole Ski Club, Jackson, Wyo.