Visit Kessler Foundation on Facebook and Tell Us Your Abilities
Kessler Foundation supports research, employment opportunities, and community programs.
Kessler Foundation Supports Abilities through Rehabilitation Research
As the largest public charity for people with disabilities, Kessler Foundation discovers ways to maximize their abilities through researching rehabilitation treatment for spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, stroke, multiple sclerosis, and other skeletal and neurological conditions.
Kessler Foundation invests in the latest technology and was chosen as a part of select rehabilitation centers in the nation to test the effectiveness of robotic technology, including the LokomatPro v6 and eLEGS, to treat individuals with lower-extremity paralysis. Researchers will develop a series of protocols to examine what methods yield the best outcomes for individuals to not only retrain their bodies how to walk but also prevent secondary complications of spinal cord injury, including cardiac problems, lung function, bone density, and pressure ulcers.
Our researchers also work to discover ways to improve thinking, learning, and memory in people with traumatic brain injury and multiple sclerosis. The stroke lab focuses on hidden disabilities caused by stroke, such as aphasia—difficulty processing language—and spatial neglect—difficulty navigating the surroundings. Through research, people with disabilities are discovering new function and abilities.
Kessler Foundation Supports Abilities through Employment Initiatives
Only 21 percent of the 54 million Americans with disabilities are employed as opposed to 59 percent of those without disabilities. This, according to the 2010 Survey of Americans with Disabilities, funded by Kessler Foundation and the National Organization on Disability (NOD), found that the low employment rate leads to an overall dissatisfaction with life. The 2010 Kessler Foundation/NOD Survey of Employment of Americans with Disabilities showed that employees with disabilities have more dedication and fewer turnovers than employees without disabilities, employers are not taking an active approach to finding job seekers with disabilities.
To raise awareness and encourage employers to hire candidates with disabilities, Rodger DeRose, President and chief executive officer of Kessler Foundation, recorded a radio public service announcement that will be heard around the nation. Click here to listen to his message.
To combat the low employment rate for people with disabilities, Kessler Foundation funds social enterprises that are designed to be run by individuals with disabilities. Industries include document management, science, retail, computer technology, the arts, and agribusiness. In five years, Kessler Foundation put more than 2,000 people with disabilities back to work in just NJ, NY, and CT. We are expanding grant funding nationwide.
Kessler Foundation also funds sports for adults and children with disabilities (see Kessler Foundation’s WheelBlazers and the North Jersey Navigators). Through athletics, people with and without disabilities come together with common interests. They realize they have new abilities and have more opportunities available to them. People with disabilities have their own abilities and contributions that they can make to the workplace and their communities as long as they have the opportunity to do so.
Remember to visit Kessler Foundation on Facebook and tell us your abilities.
