The 8th Annual Raymond James 5k Fun Run/2k Walk, sponsored by John Hancock, Putnam Investments, Principal Funds, Columbia, Delaware Investments, and Janus, has once again selected Amputee Blade Runners as the featured charity for the RJFS ELEVATE Conference. The Fun Run has continued to grow and is now a staple at this event.
Amputee Blade Runners has greatly impacted over 250 amputees and their communities. Daryl Farler, a bilateral below the knee amputee, would be living a completely different life without Amputee Blade Runners. Because of the free running prosthetics Amputee Blade Runners provided, Daryl has completed several triathlons, a Half IronMan, several half marathons, and multiple Boston Marathons. A single piece of equipment can drastically change someone’s life.
EVERY dollar you donate goes directly to providing a running prosthetic, which can vary in price from $6,000-$8,000 for a below the knee, like Daryl, or up to $15,000 for an above the knee amputee. Amputee Blade Runners is able to provide a running prosthetic to each team member at NO cost, while keeping our cost to $3,500.
At the last Elevate conference we raised $61,000. This year, the goal for the week is to raise at least $77,000, which would transform the lives of 22 amputees and their families.
Amputee Blade Runners will be onsite at the conference beginning Sunday, April 23rd through the registration hours and during the Fun Run. If you see any of our Blade Runners walking around, please feel free to talk to them about their legs and how running has changed their life.
Amputees Helped Because of Raymond James
Amaris
Amaris has been part of the ABR family since she was in middle school. Born in Puerto Rico with a congenital condition, she and her family moved to Missouri when she was a young child. Now a high school senior, she is working towards some massive goals. Amaris is on the Puerto Rican National Paralympic team and has recently been competing all over the world in places like Peru and Morocco. The next big thing on her agenda is the 2023 Paris World Games which she has recently qualified for and her eyes are set on going back to Paris in 2024 for the 17th Summer Paralympics. We are beyond excited to help Amaris in any way as she continues her athletic career. Amaris and her family are also truly exemplary members of the limb-different community. As her network grows, she has been able to introduce several new families to ABR. She was honored this past year with the Junior Nationals Spirit of Excellence Award.
Lucas
Lucas, like Amaris, joined the ABR family several years ago as an energetic middle schooler. Born in China with congenital differences in both legs, Lucas was adopted by a family in the US, where he first began wearing prosthetics. He is a natural athlete and has competed in multiple sports, including football, sled hockey, and track & field. Lucas has focused his time and energy on track, where he has become one of the top athletes in the US. This past fall he had his first taste of international competition at a meet in Portugal and medaled in multiple events. Lucas has his sights set on the upcoming Paralympic Games in Paris and Los Angeles.
Siena
These days, most people find out about ABR through a connection they have to an existing ABR athlete. Siena and her family came to ABR through a slightly different pathway. Siena was born with a congenital condition that led to the amputation of her foot when she was very young. She spent the first several years of her life in Utah. As her family was preparing to move to the Nashville area, her father searched the web for prosthetics in Nashville and immediately found ABR. Siena is a gymnast and we coordinated her first visit to ABR to coincide with Aspen’s visit to get a new leg. Aspen and Siena talked shop and Aspen described which activities in gymnastics are performed best with a blade. Soon after getting her first blade, Siena started seeing major gains in her gymnastics routine.
Ryan is the co-founder of ABR, a certifed prosthetist (CP) and has a bachelors in Business Administration. Ryan’s journey into prosthetics started when he was 3 years old. Ryan was ran over while on his big wheel riding in his neighborhood resulting in losing his left leg below the knee. Ryan went on to play sports throughout middle school and high school. Ryan was a starting linebacker for his high school when playing in a TN all star game a prosthetic company offered to make him a running leg and Ryan then went on to run track at Tennessee State University (TSU) with the able bodied athletes the first to do so in TN. Ryan then ran with the US Paralympic track program earning multiple Gold and Bronze medals in the Paralympics.
Daryl Farler
Daryl joined the ABR team in January of 2011. In 2006 he was scratched by his girlfriend's dog in the corner of his left eye and contracted a virus that caused septic shock. This resulted in Daryl losing both legs below the knee, multiple fingers, and sight in one eye. Daryl began running to improve his health but soon got his competitive spirit back in gear. Daryl has completed numerous half marathons, a half Ironman, and is a repeat Endeavor Games Sprint Triathlon Champion for his classification. Daryl was also chosen by John Hancock to compete in the 120th and 121st Boston Marathon. Daryl is proof that a single gift can change a person.
About Amputee Blade Runners:
Amputee Blade Runners is a 501(c)3 organization, based in Nashville, TN, that helps lower limb different athletes of all ages reimagine what is possible in sports and in life. To do this ABR provides FREE running & sports prosthetic to amputees. Running prosthetics are considered "not medically necessary" and are NOT covered by insurance. Amputee Blade Runners helps amputees across the country keep an active lifestyle by providing equipment, education and empowerment.
'We believe that giving someone one piece of equipment can have the power to change their life moving forward, just like it did for me!' -Ryan Fann
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