Kakana and the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation Team Up to Support Adaptive Fitness
WASHINGTON, DC and SHORT HILLS, NJ (February 17, 2022)
A new educational partnership between Kakana and the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation’s National Paralysis Resource Center (NPRC) launched this week to support inclusive and adaptive fitness. The partnership aims to create an equitable opportunity for all people committed to their health and wellness.
The partnership kicked off on February 1, 2022, with an educational webinar featuring Kakana Instructor Jesi Stracham, Reeve Foundation Program Coordinator TJ Griffin, Para-Powerlifter Garrison Redd, Team USA Wheelchair Rugby Chuck Aoki, and Kakana’s Founder Matt Ney. Registrants will also be provided a Kakana subscription until June 2022.
“Kakana has always been about two core principles: adaptive fitness and community. Our partnership with the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation allows for a powerful collaboration to spread adaptive fitness to more individuals that may not have had the opportunity,” said Matthew Ney, Founder of Kakana. “It is a privilege to be able to work closely with the Foundation and inspire more individuals living with disabilities to join an adaptive fitness community.”
Kakana is a health and wellness platform that focuses on inclusivity and accessibility. It has world-class instructors among their certified personal trainers. All classes, which are based on an at-home-fitness experience, foster a gym-like atmosphere and are tailored to individual needs with customized adaptations.
“This company exists because of, as well as for, the members,” added Ney. “Kakana has witnessed members’ desire for exciting, intense, and worthwhile workouts. Our instructors bring a true-to-life workout on a daily basis, but our members are the ones directing the need to ensure adaptivity and inclusion.”
The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation is dedicated to curing spinal cord injury by advancing innovative research and improving quality of life for individuals and families impacted by paralysis. The Foundation’s partnership with Kakana is made possible through the federally funded National Paralysis Resource Center, which comprises the support side of the Reeve Foundation’s twin missions to provide “Today’s Care” and to strive for “Tomorrow’s Cure.” The NPRC provides free, comprehensive informational support for people living with paralysis and their caregivers with the goals of fostering involvement in the community, promoting health and improving quality of life.
“Inclusivity in sports and fitness supports physical, emotional and mental health and we are proud to partner with Kakana on this important initiative to expand understanding of and access to accessible fitness opportunities,” said Angela Cantillon, Director of Operations for the National Paralysis Resource Center at the Foundation. “This collaboration serves as an extension of our work in the adaptive sports arena, which has included $3,183,608 to support 232 grants to nonprofit organizations working to make sports and fitness more inclusive.”
For more information and to sign up: visit https://onekakana.com.
About Kakana
Kakana is a groundbreaking streaming fitness platform designed to be inclusive and accessible. Kakana, means bold, determined, daring and courageous, was created to offer intense and engaging fitness classes both live and on-demand, to people of all abilities. The inclusive and unique platform also includes fitness instructors with disabilities to guide the audience through each workout.
About Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation
The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation is dedicated to curing spinal cord injury by funding innovative research and improving the quality of life for individuals and families impacted by paralysis. By uniting the brightest minds in the field, we are working tirelessly to accelerate scientific discovery across the field of spinal cord research by investing in labs across the globe. Additionally, through a cooperative agreement with the Administration for Community Living, the Reeve Foundation’s National Paralysis Resource Center (NPRC) promotes the health, well-being, and independence of people living with paralysis, providing comprehensive information, resources, and referral services assisting over 100,000 individuals and families since its launch in 2002. The Reeve Foundation is committed to elevating our community’s voices and needs to achieve greater representation and independence. We meet all 20 of the Better Business Bureau’s standards for charity accountability and hold the BBB’s Charity Seal. For more information, please visit www.ChristopherReeve.org or call 800-225-0292.
This project is supported by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $8,700,000, with a portion being funded by ACL/HHS and the rest funded by non-government source(s). The contents are those of the author(s) and organizations and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by ACL/HHS or the U.S. government.
