Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation



The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation (CDRF) is a charitable organization headquartered in Short Hills, New Jersey and dedicated to finding treatments and cures for paralysis caused by spinal cord injury and other neurological disorders. It also works to improve the quality of life for people living with disabilities.

Its roots are in the American Paralysis Foundation which was founded in 1982. In 1995, when actor Christopher Reeve was injured and became a quadriplegic as a result of a horse riding accident, he sought out the help of that organization and lent them his name and funding and eventually turned it into the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation and then the Christopher Reeve Foundation.

As of early 2006, the Foundation has awarded more than $64 million (USD) in research grants and more than $8 million in quality-of-life grants.

After Reeve's death in October 2004, his widow, Dana Reeve, assumed the role of Chair of the Foundation. Dana Reeve herself died 17 months later, in March 2006, of lung cancer after which Peter D. Kiernan, III became Chair.

On March 11, 2007, the Foundation announced that it changed its name to Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation on the first anniversary of Dana Reeve's passing. The change, according to a news release by the Foundation, was to reflect the "partnership, courage and compassion of the Reeves."

Mission
"The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation is dedicated to curing spinal cord injury by funding innovative research, and improving the quality of life for people living with paralysis through grants, information and advocacy."

Superman Tags
In June 2006, the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation launched a campaign to raise public awareness of the CDRF and its mission by selling Superman Tags. The dogtags feature the Superman S-Shield logo and the foundation's motto, "Go Forward." Because all proceeds from the sale of the tags support the Foundation's work in finding treatments and cures for paralysis, Warner Bros. is allowing the CDRF to use the Superman logo royalty-free until the campaign ends in February 2008. The CDRF is hoping to achieve the same level of success and popularity that the Lance Armstrong Foundation has enjoyed with the LIVESTRONG wristband. Celebrities who have been "tagged" include Brandon Routh, who starred as Superman in Superman Returns; Kate Bosworth, who played Lois Lane in Superman Returns; Dean Cain, who played Superman in Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman; Erica Durance, who plays Lois Lane on Smallville; David Boreanaz; Robin Williams; and Ray Romano. Christopher will be remembered.