For the first time in Rhode Island, The Heather Abbott Foundation will host its 5th Annual Fall Kick Off Fundraiser at @ The Deck at One Waite’s Wharf in Newport on October 5th from 1-5pm. The event’s Emcee is WJAR News Channel 10’s Brian Crandall and the speaking program will include a special video message from Governor Gina Raimondo. Special guest and HAF water prosthesis beneficiary, James McClelland of Hampton, NH will speak about how his new prosthesis has allowed him to once again enjoy sports on the water following the amputation of his right leg, below the knee.
A Step Ahead Prosthetics of Burlington, MA will provide a prosthetics display staffed with experts for Q&A. This event will also feature, delicious bites, live music by Sean Rivers and a silent auction. In attendance will be local HAF beneficiaries, Boston Marathon bombing survivors and friends and supporters of HAF. Funds raised will assist in continuing HAF’s mission to help provide prostheses to limb loss victims of traumatic circumstances.
The event’s fundraising will also support other HAF programs designed to enhance the lives of amputees, including Krystle’s Kids’ Fund, established in 2018 by friends of Krystle, who was killed in the Boston Marathon bombing of 2013.
Beneficiaries of this fund are children in the New England area with limb differences, who receive scholarships to attend special camps designed for them, like Camp No Limits. For more information or to purchase tickets visit https://haf2019fallkickoff.eventbrite.com
About The Heather Abbott Foundation
The Heather Abbott Foundation, (HAF), was founded in December of 2014 by its namesake, Heather Abbott, who was injured during the Boston Marathon bombing of 2013, resulting in the amputation of her left leg below the knee. Heather’s unexpected entry to the world of prosthetics and the shocking challenges most amputees face in affording to purchase them lead her to the creation of HAF. As the beneficiary herself of financial and emotional charitable support from around the world, Heather had the ability to obtain 6 different prosthetic legs, allowing her to do the things she did before her injury like running, swimming and even wearing high heels. As a way to “pay it forward”, she founded HAF, whose mission, to provide customized prostheses to those suffering from limb loss as a result of traumatic circumstances, has been carried out through dozens of grants to beneficiaries in 15 US states, ranging in age from 5 to 58 with different story involving tragedy and resilience.
