Gwendolyn Strong Foundation

About Gwendolyn Strong Foundation

Mission: Transforming lives and building a kinder and more inclusive future through advocacy, research, and support. The Gwendolyn Strong Foundation serves families affected by spinal muscular atrophy and other life-altering conditions and disabilities by offering practical financial support, filling in the gaps, and inspiring resilience through the journey. NEVER GIVE UP. The Gwendolyn Strong Foundation (GSF) was born out of Bill and Victoria Strong’s firsthand experience with their precious daughter, Gwendolyn. At 6-months-old, Gwendolyn was was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) Type I and the Strongs were told "there's no treatment, there's nothing you can do." Believing we can all make a difference, the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation was created as a way to do something in the face of nothing. Through smart partnerships, a seed funding approach to research, and looking at the landscape with fresh eyes, GSF has played a critical role in funding groundbreaking science, incentivizing new talent and ideas to the field, and tackling bureaucracy that stood in the way of solutions. There are now three life-changing FDA approved treatments for SMA, RUSP-endorsed newborn screening for earliest detection, and increased carrier screening. GSF also worked on the Hill to get federal legislation passed to streamline the clinical trial process for all rare disease and have awarded over 650 practical support grants to make life more accessible for families. They are now building the first destination inclusive playground in the Santa Barbara region, celebrating our differences and the many ways we learn, and setting the standard of the more tolerant, cooperative, and compassionate society that we all deserve.

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