What is the Threus Foundation?

I would like to introduce myself. My name is Joseph DeVere. I was diagnosed with MS in 2002 and suffered a spinal cord injury in 2005, which has left me confined to a wheelchair. I am the Founder and President of the Threus Foundation


The Threus Foundation was inspired when my wife,and I received an uncertain prognosis from an expert doctor for Multiple Sclerosis (MS). My doctor, when asked what my prognosis was, said something you never hear a doctor say. Doctor Baumheffner, a Doctor with over 25 years experience with treating and researching MS and head of the Veterans MS Treatment Program,, said  "I don:'t know. It is MS". Isn't that impressive? When do you ever hear something like that from a doctor? 

MS is a progressive disease so I took the news 2 different ways: 1. That the MS would only get worse and 2. I took it as a ticket to ride and experience life with a sense of urgency. We, My wife Rosanna and I, went on a quest to do the three S's: Adaptive snow skiing, adaptive surfing and adaptive SCUBA diving. We didn't know when or how severe the MS would flare up, so we decided go for life with reckless abandon.

After I did adaptive skiing,  I had a revelation and vision that anyone in a wheelchair should be able to try it at no charge for the first time. When I shared the idea with people, I got a really positive response. People actually started giving donations before I would even ask. Rosanna and I set out to acquire a board of directors. They needed to be the creme of the crop type people that share the vision. Let me introduce them to you:  Alvin Malave a wheelchair basketball athlete sponsored by the LA Lakers. Jeremy NC Newman, International motivational speaker, professional wheelchair athlete and fitness coach. Micheal Geenwood, a wheelchair adventure enthusiast, Jody DeVere, an entrepreneur and woman"s business expert.
         
We set up Threus as a corporation with the state of California with the following mission:
The Threus Foundation is a 501(c)3 (pending) committed to improving the lives of wheelchair users by ensuring outdoor recreational opportunities are accessible to everyone.Our first program was during the 2009 winter skiing season called "Get Stoked On Skiing" which included 3 participants. It grew to include 8 participants in 2010 and plan to reach another 15 people with disabilities and begin our
2nd program called "Rolling On the River" which will introduce whitewater rafting during 2011
           
We need your help, Join us with featured speaker, Jeremy NC Newman, November 3rd at the Plug Nickel at 7:00 pm for an "Evening Of  Inspiration" for 95 dollars in advance, 125 at the door. Donate securely Donate here if the website does not load hit reload on your browser. Thank you for spending a few minutes with us and look forward to seeing you there!!