Victoria's Victory Foundation

"Face it. Embrace it. Defy it. Conquer it." This is a powerful quote from Victoria Arlen, a well-known figure in the spinal cord injury community and the face of Victoria's Victory Foundation. Injured as a child, Victoria went on to recover the ability to walk and made a name for herself as a Paralympian, an ESPN reporter, and as a contestant on Dancing with the Stars in 2017.

But the biggest impact Victoria has made? The thousands of people she has helped through her foundation. Considered a young foundation, Victoria's Victory Foundation has done some serious work over the last four years in terms of transforming the lives of people with disabilities. Read on to see exactly how Victoria's Victory Foundation has improved the lives of countless people with disabilities.

How They Help

Founded in 2017 and based in New Hampshire, Victoria's Victory Foundation's mission from the very beginning has been simple yet profound - to help people achieve their own personal victory, whatever that may be. Victoria's mother is also an integral part of the organization and helped bring the foundation to fruition. She realized after Victoria's amazing recovery how lucky they were and that they were in a position to help others. The foundation considers itself a quality of life organization and prides itself on providing resources and supports to help people with disabilities live fuller lives. 

Not your average disability foundation, one of the hallmarks of Victoria's Victory Foundation is its scholarship program. Called their Victory Program, the foundation gives hundreds of scholarships each year to people with mobility needs that helps pay for badly needed items like adaptive vehicles, hand controls, in-home nursing, training and therapy sessions, adaptive exercise equipment, ramps to be able to enter one's home and much, much more.

Since the foundation has been created, they've raised hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years to help change the lives of people with disabilities for the better. For example, in just 2020 they gave away $215,000 in Victory Scholarships. This consisted of 700 training and recovery hours granted, 450 in-home nursing hours provided, two driver ability to valuations funded, one home renovation, one in-home medical delights delivered, and one peptide therapy patient trial supported.

Apply for Help

If you have a significant mobility challenge, are a US resident, and have a need that is unmet in your life that is related to your disability, you can apply for the Victoria Scholarship Program. While they are finished giving out scholarships for 2021, you can still apply for 2022. 

The scholarship cycle for 2022 is still being decided upon. You can check back on their application page here for updates on when you can apply for next year: https://www.victoriasvictory.org/application. When you send your application, you must send a W2/proof of income, a letter of recommendation, a quote for the services requested, and a photo of the person applying for the scholarship.

A typical scholarship ranges from $1500 to $4500 but can be more if the need is great. If you would like to see some of the people they have helped over the years, aka “Victories,” you can read profiles of scholarship recipients here: https://www.victoriasvictory.org/victory 

- Learn more: https://www.victoriasvictory.org/