The 2020 TB12 Foundation Year in Review
The TB12 Foundation originated in 2015 and has been consistently working to provide health and wellness resources to underserved and at-risk athletes who would not otherwise be able to access them. The TB12 Foundation works with a wide range of clients, including high-potential athletes, tactical athletes, and people of all ages who have an illness, a limiting physical condition, or chronic illness. Since its inception, the TB12 Foundation has donated over $1.5 million in TB12 services – over 8,500 individual treatment sessions – to sponsored athletes within the Foundation, in addition to numerous other donations, initiatives, and volunteer opportunities within our local communities.
2020 has been an increasingly challenging year for just about everyone, and TB12 and the TB12 Foundation were no exception. The COVID-19 pandemic provided the TB12 Foundation with an opportunity to take a step back and look more holistically at the impact we wanted to make within our community. It gave us an opportunity to become better positioned to help those in need than ever before.
We began by focusing on the governance of the Foundation, and honed in our mission of helping at-risk and underserved athletes – in whatever form they may take. We were able to more clearly determine the areas of need that we want to focus on moving forward, and it became clear that the TB12 Foundation can best serve those with financial needs and anyone suffering from debilitating injury or illness.
Growing Our Team
In the fall of 2020, the TB12 Foundation hired its first ever Executive Director, Lisa Borges. Lisa consults with other nonprofit organizations in the Boston area as CEO and Founder of Anchor Foundation Consulting, LLC, helping nonprofits fulfill their dreams and achieve long-term sustainability.
“Not unlike most nonprofits in 2020, the TB12 Foundation was impacted by this year’s pandemic in relation to fundraising and the ability to provide services,” Borges said. “However, it was also an opportune time to reflect on our values and plan for the long term. Our new focused effort will allow us to impact more people by helping members of the military, first responders and at-risk athletes recover from injury, gain new confidence and learn lifelong lessons on how to live a healthy life.”
Speaking Up & Making a Difference
Racial inequality and social justice came to the forefront of the national conversation in June 2020, and the TB12 Foundation chose to use this inflection point in the country as an opportunity to work towards advancement in the community. We were introduced to Ollie Spears, a community organizer and activist in Brockton, MA., and began a series of candid conversations that charted a path towards new initiatives aimed at directly impacting the underserved and at-risk people of color in Brockton.
We began our efforts to support those in need in Brockton with a TB12 Team day of service, in which 20 members of the TB12 team distributed meals to Brockton families whose lives had been impacted by the pandemic and the closing of schools. We then connected with the Brockton High School Athletic Department and assembled a program in which the Foundation sponsors 16 scholar-athletes, offering each of them the opportunity to come to TB12 Foxboro once a month for an all encompassing session. The students are paired up with Body Coaches and the sessions consist of hands-on manual bodywork, functional workouts, and mentorship with members of the TB12 team.
We deepened our connection to the Brockton Community by launching a competition for students in Brockton in which they had the opportunity to design a TB12 t-shirt with a positive message about social justice and Brockton pride. All of the profits from the winning shirt design’s sales will be donated to community organizations helping those in need in the Brockton.
Supporting Our Clients
Impacting the lives of our clients in a meaningful way has always been a central focus of the TB12 Foundation, and there is nothing more rewarding than seeing what our clients are capable of accomplishing and overcoming. Take Matt Caisse for example. Matt is a young father who suffered a traffic accident at his home that left him with a gruesome leg injury his doctors feared would never fully heal. He was told that he would never run again and would have to live a sedentary life, but Matt wasn’t ready to give up so easily. He has completely taken his life back since coming to TB12 and joining the Foundation in the Spring of 2019. He exercises daily, runs numerous times a week, and doesn’t live with the limitations he once thought he would have to.
The TB12 Foundation is also proud to work closely with tactical athletes – active duty military members, veterans, and first responders – to help them ease the burden of some of the most mentally and physically demanding jobs in the world.
One such example is Greg, a decorated Army veteran who survived years of combat in Iraq, only to nearly lose his life in a motorcycle accident once home. Greg lost his left arm and shoulder and discovered TB12 in the fall of 2019. With the help of the Foundation, he was able to ease the tension and pain he had been constantly feeling as his body worked to compensate for the loss of an upper extremity. For Greg, it was a huge step on the path to taking his life back and regaining much-needed confidence.
Other military clients include an active duty Navy Seal who relies on the Foundation to keep his body healthy between missions, and a former Green Beret Staff Sergeant in need of recovery after years of jumping out of airplanes in combat zones.
Help Us Give Back
We are always looking for new ways to get involved and support organizations and individuals whose needs align with our mission. Your tax-deductible donation helps fund sponsorships for education, rehabilitation, and performance enhancement services for at-risk athletes and individuals. It also helps provide grants for schools, organizations or communities in need of financial assistance whose goals align with the TB12 Foundation’s mission.