Family Services of Western Pennsylvania has announced that extreme adventurer and spinal cord injury survivor, Grant Korgan, will headline their annual holiday season event. Act 2: A Celebration of Second Chances will be held on Friday, December 13th from 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm at J. Verno Studios, 3030 Jane Street, on Pittsburgh’s Southside. Proceeds from the evening support the agency’s Helping Hand Fund.
Grant Korgan is a natural fit to talk about life’s second chances. Grant is an avid snowmobiler, skier, world-class kayaker, adventurer, nano-mechanics professional and husband. On March 5, 2010, while snowmobiling in the Sierra backcountry, the Lake Tahoe native fractured his L1 vertebrae, and suddenly added the world of spinal cord injury recovery to his list of activities. Without a complex plan of recovery, Grant knew he needed only one thing – positive energy. His path of recovery began with complete loss of feeling and zero movement below his belly button. Refusing to take “no” for an answer, Grant and his wife began a non-stop lifestyle of exercise brimming with love and support. In one short year, Grant graduated from wheelchair to walking with the help of two arm crutches. Two winters after being paralyzed from the waist down, Grant found his redemption on a minus-45-degree day at the South Pole. He is available to speak to the media before and during his visit to Pittsburgh.
The Helping Hand Fund was established more than ten years ago as the result of generous support from local companies. It is used to help meet the special emergency needs that many of the individuals and families served by the agency experience in their daily lives as they strive for recovery. This fund is accessed only after all other resources have been explored and exhausted and is sustained entirely through private donations. Every year the number of requests has steadily increased
Act 2 is open to the public and will also feature a performance by the August Wilson Dance Ensemble and music by the Terrence Vaughn Band. Event tickets are $100 each and can be purchased online at fswp.org. For additional information, contact Laura Brocklebank at412-820-2050, ext. 412.
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Family Services of Western Pennsylvania provides a wide variety of programs, services and activities for children, adults and families living in the Western Pennsylvania region. Since 1885, Family Services and our predecessor agencies have maintained our commitment to our mission to “Empower people to reach their full potential.”
Family Services is headquartered at 3230 William Pitt Way (U-PARC), Pittsburgh, PA 15238. For further information about Family Services of Western Pennsylvania, or any of our programs, services and supports, please contact our office at 412-820-2050, or visit our website at fswp.org.