Why do we care about F.D.R?

Franklin D. Roosevelt was the 32nd president of the United States. In 1921 Roosevelt contracted polio, and since relied on a wheelchair for mobility. Throughout his presidency in 1933 through 1945, Roosevelt took large steps in establishing widespread advocacy groups for people with disabilities. Roosevelt started the National foundation for infantile paralysis, later renamed the march of dimes program.

It started out as an organization that could quickly respond to polio epidemics as soon as they occurred, but then evolved into an advocacy group that focuses on the health of pregnant mothers and their babies as well as contributing to research on Prematurity, infantile paralysis, and other congenital disabilities.

He also established the polio rehabilitation center in wellsprings Georgia, which now operates as a vocational rehabilitation center for helping people with disabilities find and keep employment.

Both of these organizations are shining examples of why advocacy groups for people with disabilities are important. They have both lasted for nearly a hundred years, and both have assisted millions of people throughout that time. Without them, tens of millions of people would have suffered one way or another.