Sam Schmidt

Sam Schmidt, a team owner in the Verizon IndyCar Series and founder of the Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation, rode the 370-foot zip line Tuesday, May 19 at Bradford Woods in southwestern Indiana.

Schmidt, a quadriplegic, rode the specially designed zip line that was installed at Bradford Woods by CHAMP Camp. The Indianapolis-based organization provides a summer camp experience for kids with tracheostomies and those who need special breathing assistance. Like Schmidt, many of the CHAMP CAMP children are paraplegics or quadriplegics.

Schmidt’s paralysis foundation, which has evolved into Conquer Paralysis Now movement, is a leading authority on spinal cord injury (SCI) research and treatment. For more information on Conquer Paralysis Now, go to http://conquerparalysisnow.org/.

CHAMP Camp was born in 1991 and provides a week-long, summer camp experience for children and adolescents with tracheostomies and those who require technological respiratory assistance. Its campers enjoy and fully participate in outdoor summer camp activities including swimming, canoeing and climbing that encourage independence, confidence, and self-esteem to create memories that last a lifetime.