'Brave Kids' Partners With Verizon to Help Los Angeles Families of Children With Special Needs

Parents and staff of the Westside Resource Center in Los Angeles join Gene Eng, Vice President Strategic Programs, Verizon as he presents a check to Kristen Fitzgerald, Brave Kids President.

Brave Kids, a nonprofit organization that created the first online support community for families of children with special needs, has expanded a comprehensive directory of essential resources to better serve families in Los Angeles, thanks to a $50,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation.

The directory, a searchable database at www.bravekids.org, gives parents and caregivers instant access to information on 12,000 topics including local support agencies and medical information pertaining to 50 specific childhood illnesses and conditions. The Verizon grant funded expansion of the directory to include resources in and around Los Angeles. The directory had previously listed resources in15 other metropolitan areas, including Long Beach, Orange County, San Francisco, Sacramento, Chicago and New York.

Gene Eng, Verizon vice president of strategic programs, said, "Verizon is pleased to partner with Brave Kids to provide a much-needed resource that will greatly benefit Los Angeles-area families with special-needs children and others across the country. The Brave Kids directory is a great example of how technology can increase access to health care and improve quality of life."