IM ABLE founder honored for helping those with physical challenges remain active
“I was blown away by the support of the people who were there to acknowledge the work that we’ve done at IM ABLE.”
— Chris Kaag, founder of IM ABLE Foundation, Wyomissing
A Wyomissing man has been honored for his work helping those with disabilities remain active.
Chris Kaag, founder of IM ABLE Foundation, Wyomissing, recently received a $10,000 Bright Light Grant Award from the PPL Foundation.
Kaag created IM ABLE 13 years ago to help remove obstacles that can prevent people with physical or cognitive challenges from being physically active. The nonprofit celebrates what individuals can do and helps change attitudes about what is possible.
IM ABLE provides grants of adaptive equipment and inclusive programming for thousands of individuals with challenges of all kinds.
The PPL grant will go toward increasing participation in the adaptive fitness community supported by IM ABLE.
“I was blown away by the support of the people who were there to acknowledge the work that we’ve done at IM ABLE,” Kaag said in a news release.
Kaag was in the Marines in 1997 when he was diagnosed at age 21 with adrenomyeloneuropathy, or
AML. The degenerative nerve condition gradually took his ability to walk.
To help fellow veterans and the adaptive community, he started Operation Lead from the Front as one of IM ABLE’s programs. Lead From The Front is designed to facilitate an environment where military veterans can find meaning, purpose and connection by mentoring young adaptive athletes.
Kaag was nominated for the Bright Light award by a Lead From The Front mentor.
“To be surprised with this award surrounded by the IM FIT program participants, friends, volunteers, and Operation Lead from the Front mentors was particularly special,” Kaag said in the release. “They’re the ones who have brought so much joy to this community and shown everybody what’s possible when you adapt things to an individual’s challenges.”
PPL marks 100 years in business in 2020.
To celebrate, it is honoring the people who work to transform lives in their communities. A total of $100,000 in grants of $10,000 each were awarded in honorees’ names to the nonprofit agencies they support.
“To be surprised with this award surrounded by the IM FIT program participants, friends, volunteers, and Operation Lead from the Front mentors was particularly special.”
— Chris Kaag, founder of IM ABLE Foundation, Wyomissing