THE MAGISTRO FAMILY FOUNDATION MAKES $40,000 GIFT IN HONOR OF 40 YEARS OF RESEARCH

Paulette Simpson, Charles Martin, and Elise Magistro

The Magistro Family Foundation of Palm Springs, California, is donating $40,000 to promote research through the Foundation for Physical Therapy Research. The announcement was made during the Foundation’s anniversary PT Party held at the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) NEXT Conference and Exposition in Chicago.

In light of the 40-year milestone, the Magistro Family Foundation expressed their desire to direct $5,000 towards the anniversary fundraising goal and $35,000 to the Magistro Family Foundation Endowment Fund, which was established in 2005 by Foundation founder Charles and his wife, Noel Magistro. Two of Charles and Noel’s daughters – Elise Magistro and Paulette Simpson – traveled to Chicago to celebrate the anniversary and support the 2019 Service Award recipient Charles L. Martin, Jr., MBA, CAE, CIA, a close friend of Charles Magistro.

In the late 1970’s, Charles spearheaded the effort to raise more money for research. He transformed the PT Fund into the Foundation for Physical Therapy Research in 1979. In addition to helping to establish the seed money to secure the Foundation’s future, he served as the first chairman and continued to grow the Foundation throughout his lifetime.

Charles Magistro

“We often hear from people who have been inspired both directly and indirectly by Charles,” said Foundation CEO Barbara Malm. “This gift is especially meaningful in this anniversary year because it allows us to continue the work and vision that Charles started.”

The Magistro Family Foundation Fund supports an annual research grant to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions most commonly delivered by physical therapists. Since the establishment of the fund, 13 physical therapist researchers have been awarded grants ranging from $40,000-$100,000. In 2017, the minimum grant award was increased to $100,000 per year to further enable the Foundation to fund high-impact research projects.