Friday, April 19, 2024

Wampler Foundation Launches #2gether Project


Above: Country Music Star, Toby Keith, Shows Support for #2gether

SAN DIEGO, Calif.—September 29, 2015—The Stephen J. Wampler Foundation today announced the start of the #2gether project, a new social media initiative designed to promote greater involvement with the disabled community. At the core of the program is a video with people from all walks of life—including celebrity Mario Lopez, the NFL team the San Diego Chargers and local youth organizations—showing support for activities done #2gether. The end of the video challenges viewers to pass it onto two friends by tagging via Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, and make a donation through social media using #donate. Money raised from the campaign will be used to build an outdoor adventure camp for kids with physical disabilities.

Watch the video, challenge your friends and #donate HTTP://WWWTHE2GETHERPROJECT.ORG

“We all belong in this world #2gether, and we have to rely on each other to take on the various challenges we all face #2gether,” said Steve Wampler, co-founder of the Wampler Foundation. “Through this video, we want to join people who have challenges, show them how meaningful they are to us a society, and make them feel included and loved by all of us.”

Above: Kevin Bacon shows his support.

Steve Wampler has been afflicted by cerebral palsy since birth and uses an electric wheelchair for mobility on a daily basis; he has no use of his legs and only minimal use of one his arms. But even as a child, his disability never prevented him from fully participating in life. To give today’s youth the same opportunities, in 2000, Steve and his wife Elizabeth created the Wampler Foundation to operate summer camps for children with physical disabilities at no cost to the child’s family. All money from the #2gether project will go to support this cause.

The #2gether project is the latest campaign for the Foundation to raise awareness of the capabilities of the disabled. Five years ago, Steve took on what is widely considered one of the greatest challenges in rock climbing—even for an able bodied climber. Due to his disability, Steve utilized a specially designed climbing chair and a pulley system to tackle the vertical rock face that is twice the height of the Empire State Building. With each tug on a pull up bar, Steve lifted himself two to six inches. Steve suffered greatly for six days and five nights from extreme temperatures, seizures, hallucinations, severe dehydration and periods of unconsciousness, alongside gross mental and physical fatigue. In 2013, a documentary titled, “Wampler’s Ascent,” was released detailing the climb and the incredible love story between Steve and his filmmaker wife, Elizabeth. The film has a 100% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a raiting of 8.2 on IMDb.

The #2gether project welcomes participants from all over the world—from large corporations to single individuals looking to make a difference. Donations are optional, in any amount. For corporate sponsorship of #2gether, please contact [email protected]. The Wampler Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3).

About The Wampler Foundation

Founded in 2000, The Wampler Foundation provides outdoor recreation programs for children with physical disabilities, such as Muscular Dystrophy, Cerebral Palsy and Spina Bifida, at no cost to their families. To find out more about The Wampler Foundation, and to make a donation, please visit http://www.wamplerfoundation.org/.



Coronado Times Staff
Coronado Times Staff
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