Tuesday, September 30, 2008

An urgent appeal from "Santa Barbara" star Nicolas Coster

BRBTV recently received an email from Nicolas Coster (our amazing Lionel Lockridge of "Santa Barbara," along with Lyle Sloan and Joe Morris of "Dallas," and even Ezra Bushmaster in "The Dukes of Hazzard: Hazzard in Hollywood") with what he considers an urgent appeal for all Americans ...

For 34 years I have taught and transported physically challenged scuba divers at my own expense including at that time, Viet Nam veterans. I can no longer assume all that expense myself. In the past two years, we have had some help from other sources. Two years ago, I started a plan to teach wounded veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars to scuba dive. Since the beginning,and with recent documentation, (provided on request) we have seen the incredibly positive therapeutic effects of this activity.

We enlisted the participation of the Veterans Administration in Los Angeles and have been for four months teaching a pilot class, the first of its kind in Los Angeles for severely wounded veterans. We were financed for that class with a generous grant from the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation.

We cannot simply drop this class and the end of the actual course, nor can we halt the momentum on that which we have achieved thus far. The Veterans Administration professionals are extremely enthusiastic with the results observed in growing self-esteem, memory improvement and a brighter outlook for the future in our wounded veterans as a result of this training. It is unthinkable to stop now.

We have an able staff and the officers and board for Challenges. We are all volunteers. ALL money goes to the cause and the necessary expenses. WE NEED YOUR HELP to continue this most valuable work for our men and women who have sacrificed so much for our country. There are no politics involved.

These are tough times but we are doing what we can. We are simply “giving back” something to those who have given so much. Please help today with whatever amount you can. The address is:

Challenges Foundation
732 North Martel Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90046

Gratefully,

Nicolas Coster
President and Founder, Challenges Foundation
http://www.challengesfoundation.org/

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