New York, NY (May 18, 2013) – Thursday evening at BB King Blues Club in Times Square, Team Fight to Walk hosted their first ever charity Gala “FIGHTING FOR THE CURE” to raise money for spinal cord injury research and a pending trial to help cure Chronic Spinal Cord Injuries.

The packed house for this elegant black tie event was treated to special comedy acts from Artie Lange and Damon Rozier as well as a performance by rapper Professir X. Guests, including Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin, Steve “USS” Cunningham, Danny “Miracle Man” Jacobs, Luis Collazo, Junior Jones, Marcus Browne, and Kim G from the Real Housewives of New Jersey, partook in live and silent auctions throughout the evening. Jacobs, a well known boxer who fights for Golden Boy Promotions, also served as a guest speaker and put forth a speech from deep inside his heart, bringing members of the audience to tears.

Emceed to perfection by renowned PA announcer David Diamante, the voice of The Brooklyn Nets at The Barclays Center, the evening’s theme was the Five Fighters, each of whom are affected by Chronic Spinal Cord Injuries or have major involvement with “FIGHTING FOR THE CURE”. The Five Fighters, Captain Boyd Melson, Dr. Wise Young, Major Max Brewer, Eric LeGrand and Christan Zaccagnino, spoke at length about the crucial importance of raising awareness and funds through events like the gala to help bring the procedures needed to America.

While the Five Fighters closed the evening by taking the stage together as a team, they each took turns sharing their hearts by speaking to the audience. It was at this time that Melson opened up his speech by taking a medal donated to him by Jill Diamond, President of The WBC Cares Program, and placing it around Eric LeGrand’s neck. The medal was a miniature version of the center piece of the WBC World Championship belt and Melson placed it around Eric LeGrand’s neck as a gift from one friend to another thanking him for joining him in this fight.

Melson closed his opportunity to speak by reaching to the audience and asking them to carry his words and loving intentions with them when they leave the night’s events returning to their own lives. He charged them with the favor of picking one day of the week in their busy lives to remember his words, and use that day to try to contribute in any form to Team Fight to Walk’s mission- raising the necessary funds to conduct this much anticipated Clinical Trial this Fall here in New York and New Jersey.

Overall, after covering the expenses to carry out the Gala, the event raised close to $40,000, with additional checks from the evening still coming in. Every penny raised will be used to cover the costs of surgery in the Clinical Trial along with the minimum six weeks of physical therapy immediately after the surgery. With the trial hoping to include 40 patients at $100,000 per patient, a total of $4,000,000 is needed to begin the next critical phase of “FIGHTING FOR THE CURE,” which is the extremely promising Clinical Trial.

For more information or to donate, please visit Justadollarplease.org

Brooklyn, NY (April 29, 2013) – Boyd “Rainmaker” Melson of New York improved to 11-1-1 with 4 wins by knockout following a dominant victory against Chicago based veteran Edgar Perez Saturday, April 27 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.

Fighting for the first time since last October, Melson was the classier fighter from the opening bell, soundly outboxing Perez and scoring a knockdown in the fifth round en route to a one-sided six round decision. Melson, who received national attention after being profiled by HBO Real Sports along with his best friend Christan Zaccagnino, considered this victory an important one in multiple facets.

“I’m glad to be back in the ring and performing in front of my loyal fans,” said Melson, who donated his entire fight purse to justadollarpleae.org to help support a trial that could help cure chronic Spinal Cord Injuries. “Most importantly, we raised extra money for the trial thanks to the extreme generosity of Oscar De La Hoya and Golden Boy Promotions for matching my fight purse and my full-time employer Johnson&Johnson matching it 2:1. There is still a lot of work left for me to do both in and out of the ring, but everything is on the right track.”

Melson’s next fight date will be announced shortly and he will serve as a special guest at a charity fundraiser for Justadollarplease.org Thursday, May 16 at BB King’s Blues Club. For more information on the fundraiser, please visit fightingforthecure.org. Donations can also be made on Teamfighttowalk.com and Justadollarplease.org.

In association with the 501 (C) 3 nonprofit Justadollarplease.org, Melson and his best friend Christan Zaccagnino created Team Fight to Walk, whose mission is to raise awareness within the boxing community as well as the entire nation about the importance of bringing Clinical Trials to the United States to help cure Spinal Cord Injuries. Team Fight to Walk is comprised of Melson, Zaccagnino, former Rutgers football player/ESPY honoree Eric LeGrand, two-time cruiserweight champion Steve “USS” Cunningham, former junior middleweight titlist Austin “No Doubt” Trout, title contender DeAndre “The Bull” Latimore, Edgar “El Chamaco” Santana, Hector “Machito” Camacho Jr., 2008 US Olympians Demetrius “Boo” Andrade and Shawn Estrada along with prospects Sid “The Messenger” El Harrak, Jeff “TNT” Spencer, Denis “Da Momma’s Boy” Douglin, Will “Power” Rosinsky, Floriano “Italiano” Pagliara, Danny “Little Mac” McDermott, Vinny “The Lion” O’Brien, Ahmed “Prince of Egypt” Samir and Delen “Sniper” Parsley.

All specific questions about the nature of the Clinical Trial to cure Spinal Cord Injury can be sent to boydmelson@yahoo.com.

Now in its 19th season, REAL SPORTS WITH BRYANT GUMBEL, TV’s most honored sports journalism series and the only sports program recognized with a prestigious 2012 George Foster Peabody Award, presents more enterprising features and reporting when its 193rd edition, available in HDTV, debuts TUESDAY, APRIL 16 (10:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO.

Other HBO playdates: April 16 (3:10 a.m.), 19 (1:30 p.m., 9:00 p.m.), 21 (8:45 a.m.), 24 (7:00 p.m., 3:05 a.m.), 26 (1:00 a.m.), 27 (9:30 a.m., 11:15 p.m.) and 30 (11:00 a.m., 5:15 p.m.)

HBO2 playdates: April 18 (11:30 a.m., midnight), 22 (3:30 p.m., 10:00 p.m.) and 26 (7:00 p.m.), and May 1 (9:00 a.m., 5:00 a.m.), 5 (1:00 p.m.), 7 (2:00 p.m., 1:00 a.m.) and 11 (8:25 a.m.)

HBO On Demand® availability: April 22-May 13. The show will also be available on HBO GO®.

Segments include:

*Fight to Walk. Most talented amateur boxers turn pro with dreams of fame, fortune and title belts. New Yorker Boyd Melson’s aspirations are slightly different. The 31-year-old boxes for his “soul mate,” Christan Zaccagnino, who was paralyzed from the neck down in a diving accident at age ten. Melson donates every dollar he earns in the ring to spinal cord research with the hope that modern medicine will discover a way for Zaccagnino to walk again. A West Point graduate, he maintains a grueling schedule to train while working a typical nine-to-five office job. REAL SPORTS correspondent Frank Deford visits with Melson and Zaccagnino to learn more about this amazing tale of love and devotion.

Producer: Chapman Downes.

Last month, REAL SPORTS was the sole sports program recognized for broadcast excellence in 2012 by the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication with a George F. Peabody Award. It is the only sports program ever honored with the duPont Award, having first been recognized in 2005, and receiving its second duPont Award in 2012.

REAL SPORTS has won the Sports Emmy® for Outstanding Sports Journalism 15 times and has received 23 Sports Emmy® Awards overall.

Join the conversation on Twitter using #RealSports.

The executive producer of REAL SPORTS WITH BRYANT GUMBEL is Rick Bernstein; Joe Perskie is senior producer.

San Antonio, Texas (April 12) – Even with approximately 33,000 tickets already purchased for the WBA, WBC and Ring Magazine Super Welterweight World Championship Unification bout between WBC Super Welterweight World Champion Canelo Alvarez and WBA Super Welterweight Champion Austin “No Doubt” Trout on Saturday, April 20 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, tickets are still in extremely high demand. As a result, two bleacher packages will be added to the existing set-up allowing for additional seating for over 3,000 people. Newly created seating will be available for purchase at the Alamodome box office on Monday, April 15 at noon CT.

“We are thrilled that the fans have responded in such an incredible fashion to this amazing match-up,” said Golden Boy Promotions President Oscar De La Hoya. “There is no doubt the Alamodome is going to be electric on April 20. I for one can’t wait to be there and it’s clear that tens of thousands of fans can’t wait either.”

Newly released seating priced at $150 and $100, plus applicable taxes, fees and services charges, with a ticket limit of eight per person, will only be available for purchase at the Alamodome box office and go on sale Monday, April 15 at noon CT.

Canelo vs. Trout, a 12-round Super Welterweight World Championship Unification fight for Canelo’s WBC title, Trout’s WBA title and the vacant Ring Magazine title, is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, Canelo Promotions and Leija & Battah Promotions and sponsored by Corona and AT&T. The co-main event will be a 10-round fight between undefeated prospects Omar Figueroa Jr. of Weslaco, Texas and Abner Cotto of Caguas, Puerto Rico for the vacant WBC Silver Lightweight Championship which is presented in association with Miguel Cotto Promotions. The fights will air live on SHOWTIME at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT with Canelo vs. Trout being presented in association with Greg Cohen Promotions. SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® is available in Spanish on secondary audio programming (SAP). Preliminary fights will air on SHOWTIME EXTREME at 8 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

New York, NY (April 8, 2013) – Captain Boyd “Rainmaker” Melson will take a step up in competition when he challenges battle-tested Troy “TNT” Lowry in a six round junior middleweight contest Saturday, April 27 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.

One of New York’s most popular fighters, Melson fought to a controversial draw last October in the first bout ever at the Barclays Center. Following his bout in October, Melson, 10-1-1 (4 KO’s), took a much-needed break from boxing after fighting seven times in a twelve month period. Ironically, Melson’s return was initially slated for February, but the entire card was postponed when main event participant Danny Garcia suffered an injury.

“Everybody was telling me that I was killing myself by fighting too often and I didn’t listen,” said Melson, who works full-time for Johnson & Johnson, is an Army Reserve Officer and occasionally teaches fitness courses at Equinox. “I had no idea I had competed 7 times in a 12 month period until it was shared with me after the fact. I did need this rest, but I did not need to rest 6 months. I was ready to come back February 9th for the original scheduled date and I am again ready. I also do not regret fighting as often as I did, even with my last performance being subpar largely do to being burned out. I needed to keep generating money and awareness for this clinical trial to cure Chronic Spinal Cord Injuries, and all of those fights in total, when matched 2:1 by Johnson&Johnson along with being complimented by public donations, resulted in tens of thousands of dollars generated and donated to help fund this clinical trial. With this rest, I feel rejuvenated and better than ever physically.”

One of boxing’s ultimate veterans, Lowry is 28-12 with 17 wins by knockout. The Minneapolis, MN native shared the squared circle with a number of top fighters including future hall of famer Hector Camacho, Vanes Martirosyan, Andy Lee, Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin, Yuri Foreman and Pawel Wolak. Lowry also owns victories over former interim junior middleweight titlist Santiago Samaniego and unbeaten knockout artist Travis Loveless, who was 20-0 with 17 KO’s before meeting Lowry.

“Troy is a classic tough veteran in the sport of professional boxing,” stated Melson. “He has far more experience than anybody I’ve ever fought and this is the kind of test I need. I told my team that I wanted to fight a solid veteran with experience against A-level opposition, and they found a man with 40 professional fights against current contenders and former world champions for me to challenge. Lowry is the exact kind of opponent I was looking for, and I’ve got to look spectacular on the 27th.”

Tickets and merchandise are available on Teamfighttowalk.com. Following the bout, Melson will once again donate his entire fight purse to Justadollarplease.org in support of bringing trials to the United States that could help cure chronic Spinal Cord Injuries.

In association with the 501 (C) 3 nonprofit Justadollarplease.org, Melson and his best friend Christan Zaccagnino created Team Fight to Walk, whose mission is to raise awareness within the boxing community as well as the entire nation about the importance of bringing Clinical Trials to the United States to help cure Spinal Cord Injuries. Team Fight to Walk is comprised of Melson, Zaccagnino, former Rutgers football player/ESPY honoree Eric LeGrand, two-time cruiserweight champion Steve “USS” Cunningham, WBA junior middleweight titlist Austin “No Doubt” Trout, title contender DeAndre “The Bull” Latimore, Edgar “El Chamaco” Santana, Hector “Machito” Camacho Jr., 2008 US Olympians Demetrius “Boo” Andrade and Shawn Estrada along with prospects Sid “The Messenger” El Harrak, Jeff “TNT” Spencer, Denis “Da Momma’s Boy” Douglin, Will “Power” Rosinsky, Floriano “Italiano” Pagliara, Danny “Little Mac” McDermott, Vinny “The Lion” O’Brien, Ahmed “Prince of Egypt” Samir and Delen “Sniper” Parsley.

For more information or to make a donation, go to teamfighttowalk.com or Justadollarplease.org. All specific questions about the nature of the Clinical Trial to cure Spinal Cord Injury can be sent to boydmelson@yahoo.com.

PHILADELPHIA – Steve “USS” Cunningham held an open media workout at the Rock Ministries Gym in Philadelphia. With a little more than two weeks remaining until the fight, Cunningham, 25-2, 12 KOs, appeared confident, conditioned, and ready to fight Irish import Tyson Fury, 20-0, 14 KOs, a 6′ 9″ rising star of the heavyweight division. Cunningham went through a light workout for the press before speaking about the upcoming nationally televised fight at The Theater at Madison Square Garden scheduled for Saturday afternoon, April 20th. The Fury – Cunningham battle will be the main event of the 4PM ET broadcast on NBC.

“He wants to get under my skin with his antics, imitating Ali, doing all these tricks,” Cunningham said of Fury’s trash talking press conference performance from last month. “He wants me to just come in and punch him in the mouth, but I will stick to the game plan and not get out of control. It’s all about the game plan.”

We’re getting ready for the best Tyson Fury that the world has ever seen,” Cunningham continued. “He can say what he
“I’m going to utilize my strengths, and we’ve worked on my weaknesses,” Cunningham said. “So you’re going to see some different things. You’re going to see some things that are the same. I feel great. I feel strong. I feel energetic. I’m excited about this fight.”

Cunningham’s trainer, Brother Naazim Richardson, said, “Steve Cunningham has been overlooked. He is an intelligent fighter and he’s getting smarter all the time. See that’s the thing, he’s getting smarter all the time if you look at all his fights. In boxing power has always won guys things, but you never see anybody maintain with just power. Never happens…the strongest muscle in your body is that brain and the guy that can use that can find a way to manipulate almost any other person in the ring.”

Also fighting on the April 20 card, Philly favorite, Karl “Dynamite” Dargan, 12-0, 6 KO’s, participated in the media workout as well. Dynamite is preparing for his 6 round lightweight contest against Sergi Ganjelashvili of Ft Lauderdale, FL, 4-5-1.

APRIL 20TH FIGHT INFO

April 20th at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York features a 12-round heavyweight battle between Tyson Fury and Steve Cunningham in the main event. Curtis Stevens will take on Derrick Findley in the 8-round middleweight co-feature. Six additional bouts are planned for the undercard. Doors open at The Theater at Madison Square Garden doors open at 1:15PM ET. The main event and co-feature will be broadcast 4PM ET on NBC as a special 2 hour afternoon presentation of NBC Fight Night. The card is presented by Hennessy Sports and Main Events.

The main event is an official IBF Heavyweight Voluntary Eliminator fight for the #2 position. The winner must meet #1 or the leading available contender to establish the mandatory challenger for Heavyweight King Wladimir Klitschko.

Tickets are priced at $25, $50, $100, $250 and $500. Tickets are available at the Madison Square Garden box office, through Ticketmaster 866-858-0008 and at ticketmaster.com. Ticket prices include a $5 Facility Surcharge. Ticketmaster purchases are subject to a Ticketmaster Surcharge. Wheelchairs, companion seats, aisle seats and Assistive Listening Devices are available 212-465-6035.

NEW YORK – To make a memorable boxing event, of course the first step is to create a great match, but that is not the only factor that counts. Often the atmosphere at ringside plays a significant role in making an event unforgettable. Fan participation outside the ring can influence the fighters to reach new heights and sometimes even helps to sway the way the fight goes.

When it comes to the Tyson Fury vs. Steve Cunningham heavyweight collision coming up on Saturday, April 20th, consider both areas well covered.

The fight itself is likely to produce a real clash between the dangerous Irish import, Fury, and Cunningham, the more seasoned pro from Philadelphia. The hard-punching, six-foot-nine-inch Fury, 20-0, 14 KOs, is promising a definitive knockout over the former two-time champion. Cunningham, 25-5, 12 KOs, who has never been knocked out, is determined to school his younger foe and deliver the giant his very first defeat.

However, it is the atmosphere for the fight and the involvement of the fans that just might help to make this one a “Fight of the Year” candidate. Polarized by the pre-fight press conference fireworks that sparked the bout with excitement early on, each fighter will bring an ardent fan base with them to Madison Square Garden, and these opposing factions should make for a rivalry every bit as scorching as the one inside the ring.

Fury’s fans are convinced that he is the next big thing in the heavyweight division, and will pack the Garden to cheer him to victory over Cunningham, his stiffest test thus far. They must be there in person to see Fury crash the heavyweight rankings.

Meanwhile, Cunningham supporters, still raw from seeing Steve get robbed against Tomasz Adamek in December, will insist on being in New York to show their support and see their man finally earn his stripes as a heavyweight. If Cunningham gets another raw deal, the fans will have his back at the Garden.

This 12-round, too close for comfort, “pick ‘em” match up, is one that both fan bases want to be a part of, and would never consider missing. It should be an event to remember.

Boxing superstar Austin “No Doubt” Trout is the newest member of Team Fight to Walk.

Created in 2011 by boxer and West Point graduate Captain Boyd “Rainmaker” Melson and Christan Zaccagnino, Team Fight to Walk’s goal is to raise awareness within the boxing community as well as the entire nation about the importance of bringing Clinical Trials to the United States to help cure Spinal Cord Injuries. Currently, there are 1.3 million Americans, including more than 40,000 veterans, suffering from spinal cord injuries that can not receive the necessary procedures domestically.

The reigning WBA Junior Middleweight titlist, Trout has an outstanding 26-0 professional record with 14 wins by knockout. On December 1, 2012, the New Mexico native made a major splash in the boxing world when he soundly outpointed future Hall of Famer Miguel Cotto at Madison Square Garden. Since winning the world championship in 2011, Trout’s left no doubt about his place as an elite fighter, winning all five of his title bouts by a wide margin.

On April 20, Trout will be in one of the biggest fights of 2013 when he battles WBC champion and international sensation Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in a title unification on Showtime. Tickets for Trout-Alvarez, a fight few thought the latter would take, are almost sold out.

Prior to turning pro in 2005, Trout was one of the top amateur boxers in America. He narrowly missed making the 2004 US Olympic Team, dropping a decision to well regarded Vanes Martirosyan. Prior to facing Martirosyan at the Olympic Trials, Trout won a decision against a tough fighter from the Army; his name was Boyd Melson.

Though the two had a friendly relationship, they lost touch until a mutual party reconnected them and notified Trout about Team Fight to Walk. Trout, who remembered meeting Zaccagnino and her importance in Boyd’s life, immediately offered to join.

“Team Fight to Walk is very important to me,” said Trout. “The statistics about number of everyday people and US troops impacted by Spinal Cord Injuries are scary. For this organization to be on the forefront (of helping find a cure) is amazing. Team Fight to Walk is a great thing and I’m happy to help anyway I can. So many troops are suffering from spinal cord injuries. I will do all that I can to spread the word and help the cause.”

“Austin is a world champion in and out the ring,” said Melson. “There are so many people that forget about others once they make it big. Austin is still a humble person and a class act who remembers all about the match we had and the cause I fight for. I’m overjoyed that he’s officially a part of this. It’s going to be huge!”

Trout will support Team Fight to Walk by wearing a patch on his trunks for his April 20 bout against Alvarez.

Tyson Fury – Steve Cunningham Press Conference
“A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words”

During a press conference to officially announce the NBC broadcast of the Tyson Fury vs. Steve Cunningham fight, which is scheduled to take place the afternoon of April 20th at the Theater at Madison Square Garden, a heated exchange ensued between Fury and Cunningham. The photo above clearly captures the continued antagonism that took place during the customary post press conference face off photo session. There is no love lost between the two heavyweight contenders. The unplanned press conference exchange set the stage perfectly for the battle to come. They say a picture says a thousand words…

FIGHT INFO:
April 20th at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York features a 12-round heavyweight battle between Tyson Fury and Steve Cunningham in the main event. Curtis Stevens will take on Derrick Findley in the 8-round middleweight co-feature. Six additional bouts are planned for the undercard. The main event and co-feature will be broadcast 4PM ET on NBC as a special 2 hour afternoon presentation of NBC Sports Fight Night. The card is presented by Hennessy Sports and Main Events.

The main event is an official IBF Heavyweight Voluntary Eliminator fight for the #2 position. The winner must meet #1 or the leading available contender to establish the mandatory challenger for Heavyweight King Wladimir Klitschko.

Tickets are priced at $25, $50, $100, $250 and $500. Tickets are available at the Madison Square Garden box office, through Ticketmaster 866-858-0008 and at ticketmaster.com. Ticket prices include a $5 Facility Surcharge. Ticketmaster purchases are subject to a Ticketmaster Surcharge. Wheelchairs, companion seats, aisle seats and Assistive Listening Devices are available 212-465-6035.

CREDIT: AMANDA CONTO LEGISLATIVEGAZETTE.COM

Medical researchers and patients are calling on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to honor a 1998 law that established the Spinal Cord Injury Research Trust Fund with funding up to $8.5 million per year, which is generated by a surcharge on fines for moving violations.

The law is often referred to as, “The Paul Bill,” named after Paul Richter, a retired New York State Police Zone Sergeant, who was shot three times while on duty in September, 1973 in Lake Placid leaving him paralyzed from the neck down. Funding for “The Paul Bill” ended in 2010 when the research funds were diverted to the New York State General Fund. The funds from the surcharge were initially diverted in 2010 under Gov. David Paterson.

Now, advocates are trying to restore money to the fund that pays for spinal cord injury research.

“There has been no new funding for Spinal Cord Injury Research in two years. There is about $400,000 in …the pipeline to pay for the last research grant and administration costs. This last grant will terminate Dec. 31, 2013, and sadly the program will then end,” said Richter.

This is a drastic turnaround from the days when New York led the way in funding spinal cord injury research.

“For that period of about 11 years when research was funded, New York state was in the forefront of spinal cord injury research,” said Lorne Mendell of Stony Brook University, chair of the Spinal Cord Injury Research Board. “Now, with the exception of one pending project at Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York City, there is no more funding and none in sight. And, that grant to Weill vanishes on Dec. 31 of this year.”

Keith Gurgui, an advocate for Spinal Cord Injury Research said, “I have a feeling Governor Cuomo doesn’t even know he should be appropriating funds to this program.”

In August 2009, Gurgui was celebrating his high school graduation at Delaware’s Bethany Beach when he dove into the waves and landed wrong on the ocean floor. He experienced a spinal cord subluxation, or partial dislocation, that caused quadriplegia.

Gurgui is a supporter of legislation sponsored by Assemblyman Kevin Cahill, D-Kingston, and Sen. John Bonacic (A. 1147/S. 1883) that would mandate that a minimum of 5.6 percent of the funds collected by the surcharge would be deposited into the research program’s trust fund.

The bill has been referred to the Finance Committee in the Senate and Ways and Means in the Assembly. The fiscal implications of the bill would be using 5.6 percent of the revenue collected from mandatory surcharges on motor vehicle moving violations, up to $8.5 million annually, for the Spinal Cord Research Trust Fund.

“All we’re asking is that the State of New York honor the legislation that is in place and return the amount of up to $8.5 million that the legislation designates to the Spinal Cord Injury Research Trust Fund,” said Richter. “Anything else is a slap in the face to those individuals living in New York State with a devastating spinal cord injury and others with neurological maladies which may benefit from this research program.”

According to New York State Comptrollers Office, the surcharge generates about $150 million annually to the state.

“The funds that go to research are a small portion of the funds collected and we are baffled as to why a program that created such a revenue stream for the state cannot receive such a small percentage of the funds that the revenue stream was intended for,” said Gurgui.

Among the discoveries made while New York State funded spinal cord injury research are, a spinal retraining technique that is now in clinical use to improve walking deficits and proof that electrical stimulation is beneficial for spinal cord injury, which has now been adopted in labs around the world and moving to clinical use.

More than 16,000 New Yorker suffer with spinal cord injuries. The purpose of the Spinal Cord Injury Research Trust Fund is to assist leading researchers with ongoing and new efforts to find a cure for spinal cord injuries.

From 1998 through 2009, The New York State Spinal Cord Injury Research Program (SCIRP) provided $70 million for research toward treatments. SCIRP says this investment produced important scientific advances, attracted additional funds into New York State and advanced biotechnology. However; since 2010, this money raised for paralysis research has been diverted to unrelated purposes.