PT in the Community (San Antonio 2022)

My name is Patrick Berner, a licensed physical therapist and founding member of this grassroots initiative, currently serving as the chair.

 

All funds raised will support "PT in the Community", a grassroots initiative with the mission "To positively impact the local underserved communities that we visit for National PT Conferences." Traditionally with an emphasis in school-aged children and the homeless population.

 

For those who may not know, APTA’s Combined Sections Meeting (CSM) is traditionally the nation's largest physical therapy conference, bringing together upwards of 17,000 individuals each year. CSM poses a tremendous opportunity to give back to the communities in which we visit.

 

In years past, the “PT in the Community” initiative has raised thousands of dollars to support local underserved populations. During CSM 2020 in Denver, CO we utilized over $7,000 to purchase equipment and goods for Denver Public Schools and local homeless shelters. And during 2021's virtual CSM earlier this year, we leveraged the power of being virtual and held a national PT in the Community Challenge, where the top four teams took home funds to support their own local community.

 

Funds are meant to be used similar to how they have been utilized in the past. For example, supplies for school physical education departments, items like balance pads, exercise bands, and other equipment that can help relate an understanding of physical therapy, but also overall health; and supplies for homeless shelters, such as socks, gloves, toilet paper, snacks, etc. Funds will be transferred from Go Fund Me and used immediately to cover expenses of purchased materials and supplies.

 

Collection of funds will run through the month of January 2022.

 

And since we are back in-person for San Antonio there will again be opportunities for physical therapists, physical therapist assistants, and students to spend spent face-to-face time volunteering in those settings.

 

Please visit PTintheCommunity.com for more details. But bear with us as we haven't yet fully updated the website for 2022.

 

These efforts are currently supported by several sections and academies of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA).

 

We greatly appreciate your support!

 

For more info, please visit PTintheCommunity.com

 

Twitter: #PTintheCommunity @PTintheComm