NextStep Orlando

For 15 years, NextStep Orlando, a 501c3 non-profit organization has stood as a beacon of hope for individuals paralyzed from spinal cord injuries, strokes, brain injuries, and other neurological disorders. We’ve been dedicated to providing Activity-Based Therapy, empowering our clients to defy limitations and achieve a better quality of life. However, our current facility has reached its maximum capacity, limiting our ability to serve all those in need.

We are excited to announce that we’ve found the perfect location right next to Advent Health Sports Med & Rehab in the Genesis Orlando Sportsplex. Moving to this easy-access

location this summer will allow us to double our exercise stations, add a walking track, and increase our therapy hours by 30%.

However, the challenge of building out an appropriate accessible gym facility in the space comes with a hefty price tag that we simply cannot shoulder alone. We rely on corporate partners, private foundations, grants, and individual donors to keep pricing affordable for clients.

Your tax-deductible donation is an investment in the future of our community. By contributing to our expansion, you’re directly helping individuals defy the odds, fight off secondary complications, regain their independence, and rewrite their stories of resilience. NextStep Orlando not only provides the physical support to increase muscle mass, strength, endurance, flexibility, circulation, and overall health, but it is also an emotional support system to the families that attend and are craving the daily norm of engaging in gym activities among friends.

NextStep Orlando was founded by Liza Riedel, whose own daughter experienced a catastrophic car accident and spinal injury at the age of 18. Witnessing the challenges of paralysis firsthand, she recognized the limitation of traditional physical therapy and sought a more dynamic approach to rehabilitation, becoming the only Florida affiliate of the NeuroRecovery Network’s Community Fitness and Wellness Center, sponsored by the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation. The amazing journeys of progress over the years include:

Katrin (age 8) – Paralyzed in a motor vehicle accident travels every week from South Florida to focus on stretching her hip flexors and hip extensors that have quickly become very tight from sitting in her wheelchair. Her seated balance has greatly improved, helping to correct her trunk posture and scoliosis.

David (age 43) –Injured in a diving accident and paralyzed from the shoulders down has made significant progress since beginning our program and most notably regaining function and movement in his right arm. He can now lean forward to take a drink on his own!

Gary (age 65) - Paraplegic, injured from a fall, initially needed significant assistance to stand but now has the control to take unassisted steps overground with a walker. With a small amount of help to lock out his knees, Gary can walk nonstop for 7 feet!

Please consider donating what you can and sharing our cause with others who may be willing to lend their support. Together, we can make a difference and ensure that when insurance coverage ends, the paralysis recovery journey continues. Your generosity will be felt for years to come.