The mission of the Teddy and Joan Pendergrass Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, is to create a coordinated outreach organization that encourages and assists individuals with spinal cord injuries (SCI), helping them achieve maximum potential in education, employment, and overall independence.

With the help of partners like Magee Rehabilitation Hospital in Philadelphia and Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston, the Teddy and Joan Pendergrass Foundation (TJPF) strives to create connections and provide resources to help SCI survivors lead productive professional lives. The TJPF aims to highlight success stories in an effort to change the way people view SCI survivors.

WHO WE ARE

Teddy Pendergrass founded the Teddy Pendergrass Educational/Occupational Alliance for the Disabled, (Teddy Pendergrass Alliance/TPA), a Pennsylvania registered 501(c)(3) organization, in 1998. Unfortunately, Teddy died before he could fully implement his vision but his widow, Joan Pendergrass, made Teddy a promise to continue the fight for those less fortunate than Teddy.

Thus, the Teddy and Joan Pendergrass Foundation was established in 2015.

FOUNDER

Joan Pendergrass is a business leader, humanitarian and Job Skill Trainer at New Balance Athletic Shoe Company. In 2006 she met the love of her life R&B singer Teddy Pendergrass and they married in 2008. She loves to cook, spend time with family, and travel. Joan spearheads the Teddy and Joan Pendergrass Foundation which focuses on assisting individuals with spinal cord injuries (SCI) to achieve their maximum potential in various areas of life. Joan continuously donates her time and efforts towards various causes and remains passionate and dedicated to keeping the mission and legacy of her husband alive.

WHAT WE DO

The Teddy and Joan Pendergrass Foundation mission is to empower persons with disabilities. Whether it’s enriching their professional lives or personal endeavors, the TJPF simply wants to help such people pursue their everyday activities and interests.

Teddy believed that a physically challenged person could be just as successful (or more so) as an able-bodied person, that they could be a successful parent, business owner, professional, and that they could continue to be challenged and be competitive in every area, sustaining intellectual, spiritual and sexual relationships, too. The Teddy and Joan Pendergrass Foundation is not looking for a cure, but to provide opportunities for the physically challenged.

According to 2017 census data, there are more than 40 million people in the United States with some form of disability. According to 2018 data from the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center, “the annual incidence of spinal cord injury (SCI) is approximately 54 cases per one million people in the United States, or about 17,700 new SCI cases each year,” acquiring them from car accidents, sports injuries, diseases, gun violence, and military combat, among other instances.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

The Teddy and Joan Pendergrass Foundation provides help to those with Spinal Cord Injuries.

The Foundation cannot accomplish everything on its own. We need you to be an ambassador for Teddy and his dream.

Join the cause.

Tell your friends, family, co-workers.

Become partners in helping those who need assistance, people who were living regular, able-bodied lives one day and then had their lives changed forever in the blink of an eye.

JOIN US

We need you. We need companies to come on board, too.

The Teddy and Joan Pendergrass Foundation cannot succeed and meet Teddy’s dream without financial support. Consider making a tax-deductible donation today. Visit our Donation Page to donate to the foundation.

For more information on the Teddy and Joan Pendergrass Foundation, email us at gordon@teddyandjoanpendergrassfoundation.com or contact us at 188 William Penn Drive Jeffersonville. PA 19403

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