The Reeve Foundation is dedicated to curing spinal cord injury by funding innovative research, and improving the quality of life for people living with paralysis through grants, information and advocacy. Ever since Christopher Reeve was paralyzed in an equestrian competition in 1995, he not only put a human face on spinal cord injury but he motivated neuroscientists around the world to conquer the most complex diseases of the brain and central nervous system. Reeve’s wife Dana passed away of lung cancer at the age of 44 on March 6, 2006.

Meryl Streep has been supporting the Christopher Reeve Foundatin, ever since it was founded. In 1996, she was part of the “Christopher Reeve: A Celebration of Hope” television benefit, which originally aired on ABC. She further joined “Circle of Friends”, which was part of the American Paralysis Association (APA), a non-profit organization founded in 1982 to encourage and support research to find a cure for paralysis caused by spinal cord injury and other central nervous system disorders. Meryl has been a regular guest on the “A Maigcal Evening” Galas to raise awareness and benefit the Chrisopher Reeve Foundation. In 2007, she received the Dana Reeve Hope Award.