Rugby Team To Receive Grant From Paralysis Foundation

Each week, team members come out in full force to flex their motor muscles and talk a little trash. Johnny Holland is known as Quadzilla on the court, and he shows no mercy to anyone who comes his way.

Fourteen years ago, Holland was involved in a car accident that left him a quadriplegic, but he still has limited use of his hands.

"Out here, you can take out your frustrations. If you like contact, this is the sport," he says.

The rugby team is not even a year old, and there is little money available for expenses and travel to away games. That is why Holland is glad to hear the team has just received a $10,000 grant from the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation.

"With a name like that on the forefront, people are taking notice to it," he says.

The money from the foundation will go towards making much-needed repairs to the team's wheelchairs. The repairs do not come cheap; each wheelchair costs an average of $1,500.

"Funding is so limited when you have to pay for medical expenses, and things like that you really can't afford to do a lot of extra activities unless there's funding for you," says recreational therapist Kim Horne.

This is the first year the Reeve Foundation has donated money to the team. The Southeastern Regional Rehabilitation Center is one of 40 organizations nationwide that received more than $350,000 in the Quality of Life Grants from the foundation.