When injured veterans joined together to build an organization to fight for better lives, they chose the motto Societate Fortiores, Stronger Together.

They knew they had a monumental task before them, and they needed everyone to pull together to succeed. It is nearly impossible to picture how grim the prospects were for people with spinal cord injuries eighty years ago, but who better to take on the seemingly impossible fight for full and independent lives than battle hardened veterans.

Decades before it had a name they applied the philosophy of “nothing about us without us” in building timeless effective supports that are still at the core of what we do today: providing help navigating a way forward, help getting home, help getting essential equipment, help finding employment, advocacy working hard and smart to even life’s playing field, and peers sharing their knowledge and their strength.

This year, my first year as CEO of Spinal Cord Injury Ontario, I have travelled all across the province and met hundreds of people in person.

I listened to clients and their families in hospitals, in rehabs and in their homes. I listened to our partners in healthcare, in industry and in government; and I listened to our staff and volunteers and saw them in action.

I can proudly report to you, without any hesitation, that people deeply appreciate the work you make possible, and that our staff and volunteers are passionate, dedicated, and effective. This is not just my own opinion, it is feedback enthusiastically expressed by all those I met all across Ontario.

This matters to me deeply on a professional and personal level. When my wife, Jennifer,
experienced a spinal cord injury, our family learned how much it matters to have someone in
your corner who truly understands what you are going through.

Tomorrow, when someone in Ontario wakes in a hospital bed to a life completely changed and
asks “What happens now?” “Who will help me?” It is your gift that makes certain someone is there to help who understands.

We are truly stronger together. Please give today and make certain no one faces the challenges of a spinal cord injury alone.

Wishing you all the very best,