Nike’s First Professional Athlete With Cerebral Palsy Galvanizes STEPtember Campaign

NEW YORK – Cerebral Palsy Alliance Research Foundation (CPARF) is proud to have Nike athlete Justin Gallegos as its 2019 STEPtember Ambassador. He’s encouraging others to double their impact through the $125,000 Goodman/CPARF donation match for CP research that’s currently live.*

When Nike signed Justin as its first professional athlete with cerebral palsy, millions of people saw it happen. In a viral video that still resonates nearly a year later, Justin lived his philosophy — be limitless — and his creed of becoming stronger every mile as he finished a race for the University of Oregon. As CPARF’s 2019 STEPtember Ambassador, he advocates for raising funds and getting moving for cerebral palsy research and awareness. He shared his story and those guiding principles with many employees of prominent New York-based organizations during the first week of the challenge, motivating them to step up with him.

Justin grew from a child who wore leg braces and fell often into someone who loves running so much that he’s racking up 200 miles a month in preparation for the 2019 Chicago Marathon. His experience is extraordinary. And he is one of 18 million people worldwide with cerebral palsy, a disability that affects people in varying ways — from only directly impacting one limb to profoundly affecting someone’s ability to move, speak, and eat. The brain injury that causes cerebral palsy doesn’t worsen, but the wear and tear of living with CP means that people often experience the disability differently as they age.

The proceeds from CPARF’s STEPtember — a global 28-day wellness-meets-fundraising initiative challenging participants to raise money for CPARF while they raise their pulse by taking the equivalent of 10,000 steps a day — will fund US-based research projects to find new treatments for cerebral palsy, discover ways to prevent it, and, ultimately, find a way to cure it.

You can double your impact on life-changing CP research by donating to Justin’s page.

CPARF’S MISSION

Cerebral Palsy Alliance Research Foundation is a nonprofit organization driving cutting-edge research to change the lives of 18 million people with cerebral palsy. We won't stop until people with CP can live pain-free, until they can live the lives they envision for themselves, and until they can express what’s on their mind and be understood even when they can’t speak.

We work with the best scientists and researchers in the US across many specialties and disciplines. We foster collaboration between them nationwide, as well as with the global CP scientific community. We also focus on ensuring that the breakthroughs, advances, and treatments they discover will be widely implemented so that we can help as many people with CP as possible.

To learn more about CPARF and our life-changing research, visit www.cparf.org or contact info@cparf.org.

*Matching gifts from Goodman and CPARF will reflect the amount raised during the timeframe of the match (running from September 12th and running until either a total of $125,000 is raised by STEPtember participants — exhausting the match funds —  or the deadline is reached on September 14th at 11:59am EST).