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Sens. Collins, King Announce Nearly $250,000 In Grant Funding To Maine To Benefit Disabled Veterans And Service Members

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King today announced that three organizations in New Gloucester will receive a total of $249,497 from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to provide adaptive sports opportunities—at the local, regional, and national level—for disabled veterans and disabled service members of the Armed Forces. 
 
Adaptive sports are those sports that have been created or modified for persons with disabilities.  Funding may be used for such things as training, program development, recreation therapists, coaches, sports equipment, supplies, program evaluation and other activities related to program implementation and operation. 
 
“Adaptive sports are a fantastic platform for our nation’s courageous wounded warriors and disabled veterans to experience not only exciting recreation but also a means of rehabilitation and healing,” Senators Collins and King said in a joint statement.  “This funding will make a lasting difference in the lives of disabled veterans and service members throughout Maine and across the country.”
 
The grant recipients are as follows:

  • Pineland Farms, Inc. will receive $84,497.30 for the local provision of Nordic Skiing, Biathlon, Archery, Cycling, Snowshoeing, Orienteering, Fly-fishing, and Disc Golf
  •  New England Nordic Ski Assoc. will receive $50,000 for the regional provision of Nordic Skiing and Biathlon 
  • U.S. Biathlon Association will receive $115,000 for the national provision of Nordic Skiing and Biathlon

Last week, King toured several facilities at the Pineland Farms campus in New Gloucester, which includes an extensive network of trails, woodlands, and fields open to the public for recreation.