“Bridging the Gap”, Kayak Fundraisers, Mi.

Todd Salley is one of our kayaking friends from Michigan. Recently he paddled 90 miles to help raise funds for a variety of nonprofits and adaptive programs. Below is a copy of an article from The O&P Edge about the cool ways kayakers are helping people of mixed-abilities.

Kayak Fundraisers Paddle 90 Miles

Bridging the Gap team members take to the water.

An eleven-person, mixed-ability team of kayakers paddled more than 90 miles through Michigan to raise funds for a variety of nonprofits and adaptive programs over the weekend of June 13, according to College Park Industries, Frasier, Michigan. Dubbed “Bridging the Gap,” the three-day trip raised funds and generated media attention for the 2008 Extremity Games, the Amputee Coalition of America (ACA), Templer Foundation, and Riverside Kayak Connections’ Adaptive Program.

According to College Park, “Fog, thunderstorms, and other climatic hurdles contributed to making Bridging the Gap a very challenging journey for even the hardiest of paddlers.” The paddling team included Todd Salley, College Park Industries’ north-central territory manager; Dan Pingatore, who has a right knee disarticulation; Chris Casteel, RTO, who has a left knee disarticulation and is both a part-time orthotics and prosthetic technician at University of Michigan Health System and a full-time graduate student at Eastern Michigan University; Paul Templer, a who has a left shoulder disarticulation and is founder of the Templer Foundation and is a motivational speaker; Chris Walton, Paul Templer’s brother-in-law; Steve Corlew, a full-time graduate student in the orthotics and prosthetics program at Eastern Michigan University; Tiffany and Patrick VanDeHey, owners of Riverside Kayak Connection LLC, Detroit; Sara Smith, Riverside Kayak Connection employee; Les VanKuren, CO, of Wright & Filippis, Rochester Hills, Michigan; and Jerry Glotfelty, kayak enthusiast.

The fundraising trip was dedicated to the memory of Ken Woodward, CPO, the late director of prosthetics at Wright and Filippis, where he was employed for 50 years.