| Founder(s) | Jim MacLaren |
|---|---|
| Type | 501C3 Non-Profit |
| Tax ID No. | 33-0739596 |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Location | 9591 Waples Street San Diego, CA 92121, USA |
| Revenue | $3,695,032 |
| Endowment | $425,000 |
| Motto | Recognizing courage. Rewarding perseverance. Realizing dreams. |
| Website | http://www.challengedathletes.org |
The Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) is an organization that provides grants for training, competition and equipment needs to people with disabilities.
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The Challenged Athletes Foundation was founded in 1997.
It was established in response to below-knee-amputee endurance racer Jim MacLaren suffering a devastating second accident while competing in a triathlon. He was hit by a car during the bike leg and was paralyzed from the neck down. His many friends quickly decided to raise funds for his recovery, and organized the first San Diego Triathlon Challenge (SDTC) – an annual fundraising triathlon event at La Jolla Cove, California, USA.
The CAF Board of Directors have continued their efforts to increase the organization’s national and international presence by chartering their first chapter organization, CAF-Florida.
A group of business men and women from central Florida first approached the Board in the fall of 2006 with an interest in creating a stronger CAF presence on the east coast. After raising $165,000 in seed money at a November Founder’s Club event, a formal chapter agreement was signed in March.
The new Florida chapter is composed of individuals with a wide-range of professional and athletic experience, mostly from around the Tampa Bay area. They hope to grow slowly to involve people from every corner of Florida and spread the word about how CAF is helping physically challenged individuals.
CAF recently started up a Northeast chapter based in New York City
The Challenged Athletes Foundation mission is to provide opportunities and support to people with physical disabilities so they can pursue active lifestyles through physical fitness and competitive athletics. The Challenged Athletes Foundation believes that involvement in sports at any level increases self-esteem, encourages independence and enhances quality of life.
It is the vision of Challenged Athletes Foundation:
- To be a recognized leader in a movement through which physically challenged athletes are accepted and respected at the same level as able-bodied athletes;
- To have a great and significant impact on each physically challenged athlete served; and
- To reach out to the physically challenged community by providing inspiration, awareness and mentoring.
The Challenged Athletes Foundation holds a number of high profile fund raising events in order to raise money to support disabled athletes to compete in sports. These include CAF events the San Diego Triathlon Challenge; Million Dollar Challenge; Heroes, Heart and Hope Gala held at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City, Hawaii Revisited; Tour de Cove; Rock on the Green and numerous other events under the banner of Race for a Reason.
The Challenged Athletes Foundation has enabled a number of disabled athletes to get to the starting line. Amongst these are Sarah Reinertsen who was the first female leg amputee to complete the Ironman Triathlon World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.
Other Well Known Challenged Athletes Include:
- Carlos Moleda
- Cody McCasland
- Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah
- Evan Morgan
- Jake Frank
- Major David Rozelle
- Oscar Sanchez
- Paul Martin
- Ryan Levinson
- Rudy Garcia-Tolson
- Scout Bassett
- Tricia Downing
- Willie Stewart