Great Lakes Adpative Sports Association

Great Lakes Adaptive Sports Association, registered in the federal System for Award Management since July 2013, is a woman-owned, tax-exempt nonprofit organization headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois. The organization serves as a prime recipient of federal grant awards focused on expanding adaptive sports and recreation programming for disabled veterans and members of the armed forces. Through its partnership with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' VHA Under Secretary for Health, Great Lakes Adaptive Sports Association has established itself as a key provider of health-promoting athletic opportunities designed to improve outcomes for disabled service members and veteran populations.

The organization has received five consecutive prime federal grant awards from the VA since 2021, demonstrating sustained federal recognition of its programming quality and impact. These grants, authorized under 38 United States Code 521A, have supported initiatives including "Healthy and Active: Sport and Recreation Programming to Improve Veteran Health Outcomes" and "Expanding Adaptive Mountain Sports Opportunities in the Eastern Sierra." Most recently, the organization was awarded a project grant on September 30, 2025, with a completion date of September 30, 2026. Additionally, Great Lakes Adaptive Sports Association served as a sub-grantee under the Christopher Reeve Foundation, where it received funding in May 2021 to implement the "Virtual GLASA" program, a COVID-19 response initiative providing virtual adaptive physical activity, mental health support, and social engagement programming for individuals living with paralysis. The Virtual GLASA program demonstrably served 77 participants weekly with an average of 7-8 hours of programming per week led by certified instructors, representing 38 percent of that project's total budget.