NextStep Raleigh

10/12/2026

What's Happening at NextStep Raleigh

Beyond the Horizon: An Extraordinary Evening for an Extraordinary Cause
Sunday, November 1, 2026 | Boatman Spirits, Raleigh

Three Waypoints. One Extraordinary Journey.

The countdown is on for our 2026 Stand Together Gala, Beyond the Horizon, and this year's celebration promises an incredible evening of food, craft cocktails, music, and community.

We're bringing together an outstanding collection of culinary talent, including Chefs Patricio Cuneo, Lindsey Darkes, Ian McKenney, Dave Mitchell, Jake Wolf, and Kyle Teears, along with Mera Brothers Oysters, all generously sharing their creativity in support of NextStep Raleigh.

Guests can choose their adventure:

The Wayfarer Experience | 4:30 PM: An exclusive distillery experience featuring a tour, craft cocktail class, small plates, and early access to seating.

The Voyage | 6:00 PM: Our main celebration featuring exceptional food, curated cocktails, inspiring stories, and opportunities to support our mission.

After Dark | 9:00 PM: An evening of music, dancing, and celebration with Epic DJ Entertainment.

Beyond the food and festivities is the reason we're gathering: to help individuals living with paralysis and other neurological conditions continue pursuing recovery opportunities that traditional insurance does not cover.

The horizon looks different for everyone. Together, we help move it forward.

Purchase tickets or explore sponsorship opportunities at https://onecau.se/beyondthehorizon

Exploring New Possibilities with
Daiya Industry Co., Ltd.

Beyond the Horizon: Stories Worth Sharing

Our Community Comes Together

Cocktails for a Cause

Our community partners are finding creative ways to support NextStep Raleigh ahead of the gala, and we're raising a glass to their generosity.

The Sandy Sweet Talker | Maximillians Grill & W**e Bar
Chef Margie Hennessee, a NextStep Raleigh board member and owner of Maximillians, has introduced a seasonal Hot Gin Toddy featuring Sutler's Gin (Board Member Scott Sulter's creation), black tea, star anise, cinnamon, orange peel, and a maple sugar rim from Carolina Sugar Company. In case you are wondering, it is named for a certain Executive Director.

Available throughout October, with $1 from each cocktail benefiting NextStep Raleigh.

Freak in the Sheets | Boatman Spirit Co.
Created by Aaron Lambert, this inventive cocktail features Boatman Spirit Co. Dry Gin, Kill Devil Spiced Rum (Board Member Tony Ursone), roasted sweet potato and yucca syrup, lemon juice, and a corn-and-coconut cream foam, finished with a Tajín and lava salt rim.

These collaborations are wonderful examples of how our local hospitality community continues to find ways to support our mission.

Stop by, enjoy something special, and thank these community partners for standing with NextStep Raleigh.

A Note From Sandy

As we approach this year's Stand Together Gala, I've been reflecting on the people who make NextStep Raleigh what it is.

Our clients bring determination and resilience, even on the difficult days. Our trainers show up with patience, encouragement, and a belief in what may still be possible. Families and caregivers make sacrifices that often go unseen. And our community partners continue to find new ways to share their talents, resources, and time.

What stands out to me is that none of this happens in isolation.

Whether it's a company traveling from Japan to explore new rehabilitation technology, a community organization welcoming us into its veterans outreach, or local chefs and businesses coming together for our gala, each connection opens another door.

At NextStep Raleigh, we believe everyone deserves the opportunity to pursue their recovery goals, regardless of financial circumstances. Yet the reality is that our specialized activity-based recovery services are not covered by traditional insurance. The generosity of our community helps bridge that gap, making continued recovery opportunities possible for individuals living with paralysis and other neurological conditions.

That's what Beyond the Horizon represents to me. Not simply a fundraising event, but a community choosing to invest in possibility.

Whether you purchase a gala ticket, become a sponsor, make a donation, volunteer, or simply introduce someone to our mission, you are helping create opportunities for someone else to keep moving forward.

Thank you for being part of this journey. I hope you'll join us on November 1 to celebrate how far we've come and the possibilities still ahead.

Join us in moving the horizon forward.

Click here for an update from NextStep Raleigh!

10/10/2026

A Little Sweet Talk Goes a Long Way.

What happens when Chef Margie Hennessee, owner of Maximillian’s Grill & W**e Bar, a longtime fixture in the Triangle’s culinary community, dreams up a little magic, blends in a dash of creativity, and adds a generous splash of community spirit for our upcoming gala?

You get The Sandy Sweet Talker, a Hot Gin Toddy with a little spice, a whole lot of warmth, and just enough sass to keep things interesting.

And yes, it’s named after our very own Executive Director, Sandy Bridger. We’re not saying Margie captured her personality in a cocktail, but the combination of sweetness, spice, warmth, and just the right amount of sass might be a little too close for coincidence!

This cocktail features Sutler’s Spirit Co. gin, black tea, star anise, cinnamon, orange peel, and a maple sugar rim from Carolina Sugar Company.

What makes this cocktail even more special is the community behind it. Chef Margie Hennessee and Sutler’s Spirit Co. owner Scott Sanborn are both members of the NextStep Raleigh Board of Directors, bringing their creativity, talents, and a little entrepreneurial spirit together to support a mission close to their hearts.

It’s a perfect example of what happens when our community goes beyond simply supporting a cause and finds its own unique ways to make a difference. And in this case, they’ve found a pretty delicious one! Even better, $1 of each cocktails goes to support NextStep Raleigh.

The Sandy Sweet Talker is available at Maximillians throughout October, so stop by, raise a glass, and enjoy a preview of what is to come at our Beyond the Horizon Gala.

Want to know how to make it yourself? The full recipe is one more reason to join us on November 1.

Stand Together Gala: Beyond the Horizon
November 1 | Boatman Spirit Co.

https://onecau.se/beyondthehorizon

CarolinaSugarCompany

10/06/2026

October 8th is DAF Day

If you have a Donor-Advised Fund, you already have charitable dollars set aside to support causes you care about. On DAF Day, we’re inviting our community to consider putting those dollars to work at NextStep Raleigh.

We provide specialized activity-based recovery for individuals living with paralysis and other neurological conditions, helping clients continue working toward greater strength, function, independence, and quality of life.

Because these services are not covered by insurance, charitable support helps us underwrite the true cost of our programs and keep recovery within reach for the individuals and families we serve.

A grant from your DAF can help provide another hour of recovery, another opportunity to build strength, and another chance to discover what is possible.

Your DAF can do more than make a donation. It can help move recovery forward.

10/05/2026

Recovery is never carried by one person alone.

Behind so many of the individuals we serve is a caregiver quietly carrying an enormous part of the journey, through appointments, advocacy, exhaustion, uncertainty, sacrifice, and hope.

Our latest Beyond the Horizon story is told from the perspective of a mother whose life changed alongside her son’s after a devastating stroke.

Caught Between Heartache and Hope gives voice to the grief caregivers often carry for the life that was, while still holding fiercely to the possibility of what may come next.

It is a powerful reminder that behind every person fighting to recover, there is often someone fighting right beside them.

We hope you’ll take a few minutes to read her story.

https://www.nextstepfitness.org/new-blog-1/2026/10/5/reflection-10-caught-between-heartache-and-hope-by-raine-tyndall

10/05/2026

We are officially less than a month away from the 2026 Stand Together Gala: Beyond the Horizon.

On Sunday, November 1, NextStep Raleigh will gather at Boatman Spirits for an evening celebrating recovery, resilience, innovation, and the incredible community that makes our mission possible.

This year’s gala is unlike anything we have done before. Local chefs, craft distillers, musicians, artists, businesses, sponsors, volunteers, clients, families, and friends are coming together to create an immersive culinary and philanthropic experience in support of people living with paralysis and neurological conditions.

Three Waypoints. One Extraordinary Journey.

The Wayfarer Experience | 4:30 PM
An intimate early experience featuring the distillery, exceptional bites, and early access to the evening.

The Voyage | 6:00 PM
Our main event, filled with incredible food, storytelling, community, and the mission of NextStep Raleigh.

After Dark | 9:00 PM
The celebration continues with Epic DJ Entertainment, drinks, late-night bites, and dancing.

Because our services are not covered by insurance, fundraising is essential to helping us underwrite the true cost of specialized neurological rehabilitation and keep these services within reach for the people who need them.

Every ticket purchased, every sponsorship, every donation, and every person who shares our story helps move that mission forward.

We hope you’ll join us on November 1.

Choose your adventure. Chart your course. Meet us beyond the horizon.

Learn more, purchase tickets, or explore sponsorship opportunities:
https://onecau.se/beyondthehorizon

10/01/2026

We are so proud to see NextStep Raleigh featured in the October issue of Raleigh Magazine.

The article shares the stories of Rahman Mateen, Owen Markham, and Corrie Cooper, three individuals whose recovery journeys look very different but who each show what can be possible with continued access, support, and the opportunity to keep working toward their goals.

We are grateful to Raleigh Magazine and Abigail Celoria Francis for taking the time to learn more about our work and, most importantly, for centering the voices and experiences of the people we serve.

This feature is also a reflection of the entire NextStep Raleigh community: our clients, families, trainers, supporters, and everyone who believes that recovery deserves more time, more access, and more possibilities.

We hope you will take a few minutes to read and share their stories.

NextStep, a local paralysis center, uses a fitness-based approach to help people relearn lost movements and reclaim a piece of themselves.

09/22/2026

Eight Years In, and Still Moving Forward

September has been a month of growth, celebration and new possibilities at NextStep Raleigh.

We celebrated eight years of serving our community, welcomed new members to our training team, expanded the recovery resources available within our center and continued building connections throughout the Triangle.

At NextStep Raleigh, personalized care and innovation go hand in hand. We stay connected to evolving research, explore new technologies and approaches that may benefit our clients, and never lose sight of the individual person behind every program.

And as we look toward what comes next, our biggest night of the year is just ahead.

BEYOND THE HORIZON
Tickets & Sponsorships Are On Sale

0n Sunday, November 1, we will gather at Boatman Spirits for the Stand Together | Beyond the Horizon Gala.

This year, the evening unfolds across three distinct experiences:

4:30 PM | The Wayfarer Experience
An intimate opening experience for sponsors and Wayfarer ticket holders featuring a private distillery experience, craft cocktails and chef-curated bites.

6:00 PM | The Voyage
The heart of the gala, with incredible food and cocktails, silent and live auctions, our Mission Moment and Fund-a-Need.

9:00 PM | After Dark
The mission is serious. The party doesn’t have to be. Stay for music, dancing and late-night bites as we celebrate into the evening.

For NextStep Raleigh, this night is about far more than a celebration.

Our specialized neurological recovery programs are not covered by insurance. Fundraising helps bridge that gap, expand access for our clients and allow us to continue investing in the programs, technology and equipment that make recovery possible.

Tickets and sponsorships are available now. (https://onecau.se/beyondthehorizon)

Explore Beyond the Horizon and reserve your place

Three Waypoints. One Extraordinary Journey.

MORE RECOVERY OPTIONS, CLOSE TO HOME

We are pleased to introduce Dr. Brett Hightower, who is now offering Neuropuncture as an additional resource for the NextStep Raleigh community.

Neuropuncture is an acupuncture approach focused on neurological conditions. In spinal cord injury rehabilitation and other neurological care, it is intended to target specific neurological pathways and may be used alongside other therapies to support goals such as pain management, nerve signaling, mobility and function.

For us, it is another example of looking beyond a single approach to recovery and connecting clients with options that may complement the work they are already doing.

Serving NextStep Raleigh clients is a priority for Dr. Hightower.

To learn more about whether Neuropuncture may be appropriate for you or someone you love, text Dr. Brett Hightower at 919-931-3744. He asks that clients text initially so he does not miss your call.

MORE RECOVERY TECHNOLOGY, CLOSE TO HOME
Bioness Screening Days at NextStep Raleigh

Through our partnership with Bioness Medical Inc., NextStep Raleigh is helping bring additional rehabilitation technology and recovery options directly to our local community.

Bioness technology may be appropriate for some people living with stroke, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, cerebral palsy and other brain, nerve or spinal cord conditions.

Bioness offers several technologies, including:
L300 Go®
Designed to assist with foot drop and walking.

H200 Wireless®
Designed to support hand and arm movement.

PoNS® Therapy
Used to support walking and balance for some people with chronic stroke or multiple sclerosis.

Bioness clinicians will continue visiting NextStep Raleigh for special monthly screening days. Clients can meet individually with a clinician, discuss their goals and explore whether one of these technologies may be appropriate for them.

Upcoming Screening Dates
October 16
November 11
December 16

Call our Bioness representative at 804-357-9169 to learn more or reserve a spot.

Bringing opportunities like these into our center is one more way we are working to give clients access to more tools and more possibilities for recovery without having to travel.

INNOVATION ALREADY IN ACTION
ARC-EX at NextStep Raleigh

Innovation is not only about what comes next. It is also part of what is happening inside NextStep today.

NextStep Raleigh continues to integrate ONWARD ARC-EX® Therapy, a noninvasive spinal cord stimulation technology, into programming for eligible clients with spinal cord injuries.

ARC-EX is used alongside our activity-based training approach and gives our team another tool as clients work toward goals involving upper-extremity movement and function.

It is part of our larger commitment to staying connected to advances in neurological recovery while continuing to build each program around the individual client.

GROWING OUR TEAM
Meet Ty & Jaylen

Recovery is deeply personal, and the people working beside our clients are an important part of the NextStep Raleigh experience.

This fall, we are excited to welcome two new Activity Based Trainers to our team: Tylyia “Ty” Triggs and Jaylen Green.

CELEBRATING DEMONICA’S NEXT STEP
From Raleigh to Atlanta

September also brought a bittersweet goodbye as Demonica Stanley left NextStep Raleigh to begin the next chapter of her career in Atlanta with Shepherd Center.

Demonica brought energy, compassion and a genuine commitment to our clients throughout her time at NextStep. She leaves having shaped this community while also being shaped by the clients, families and teammates she worked beside.
We are proud to see her continue growing within the neurological rehabilitation field and carry what she has learned here into one of the country’s leading rehabilitation organizations.

Her move is also a reminder that NextStep Raleigh is not only a place where clients continue growing. It is a place where young professionals deepen their knowledge, discover where this work may take them and carry that experience into the larger rehabilitation community.

Demonica, thank you for everything you gave to NextStep Raleigh. We cannot wait to see where this next horizon takes you.

NEXTSTEP RALEIGH TURNS 8
Look How Far We Have Come

On September 18, 2026, NextStep Raleigh celebrated eight years.

NextStep Raleigh began with a family’s determination to create a place where Michael Thor could continue pursuing recovery following his C2 spinal cord injury.
That vision became something much larger.

Today, NextStep Raleigh serves people living with spinal cord injury, stroke, traumatic brain injury, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and other neurological conditions.

Over eight years, our equipment has evolved. Our programs have expanded. New technology has become part of what we can offer. New trainers have learned here, grown here and carried that experience forward.

But the reason we are here has remained remarkably simple:

People deserve the opportunity to keep working toward what comes next.

Recovery does not follow a timetable. It does not look the same for everyone. And access to recovery should not disappear simply because traditional rehabilitation or insurance coverage has ended.

Eight years later, we are still learning, still growing and still asking what more is possible.

To every client and family who has trusted us, every trainer who has invested themselves in this work, and every donor, volunteer, board member, founder, friend and community partner who has helped make these eight years possible, thank you.

There is still so much beyond the horizon.

NEXTSTEP IN THE COMMUNITY
Join Us at the 5K9 Dog Jog

NextStep Raleigh is excited to participate in the Vets to Vets United 5K9 Dog Jog on Saturday, September 26 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary.

Vets to Vets United is a local nonprofit that pairs rescue dogs with veterans living with service-connected disabilities, including PTSD, traumatic brain injury and depression. Each veteran and dog team receives training and certification as a service dog team through a two-year program provided at no cost to the veteran.

Their work addresses two needs at once: giving rescue dogs another chance while providing veterans with companionship, support and a reason to get up and moving each day.

The 5K9 Dog Jog has grown into much more than a race. Families can enjoy pony rides, a petting zoo, a DJ, snacks and drinks, games, a vendor village, activities for dogs and more.

NextStep Raleigh will be there from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM, sharing our mission and connecting with veterans, families and organizations from across the community.

Stop by and see us.
September 26 | 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM
WakeMed Soccer Park | Cary, NC

Learn more about Vets to Vets United (http://vetstovetsunited.org/)

A RESOURCE FOR OUR SCI COMMUNITY
Stay Current with SCI Matters

One of NextStep Raleigh’s board members, Dr. Alexander G. Rabchevsky, Professor at the University of Kentucky Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center, publishes a weekly newsletter called SCI Matters.

The newsletter brings together spinal cord injury research, advocacy updates, educational resources, podcasts, emerging technologies and opportunities for the SCI community.

Recent issues have included information about spinal cord stimulation, brain-computer interfaces, new SCI research, advocacy efforts and practical resources for people living with spinal cord injury.

For clients and families who want another way to stay connected to developments in the larger SCI community, SCI Matters is a great resource to have in your inbox.

Read a recent issue of SCI Matters (https://mailchi.mp/efc8f2dd6991/o7yessln0y-2003)

Subscribe to SCI Matters (https://uky.us22.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=6a70d258e4be1b218a68628e5&id=96c3a8485f)

KEEP MOVING FORWARD WITH US

There are many ways to be part of what happens next at NextStep Raleigh.

Come see us. Share our mission. Introduce someone to NextStep. Attend the gala. Become a sponsor. Make a gift.

Every connection helps expand what is possible for the people we serve.

STAND TOGETHER | BEYOND THE HORIZON
November 1, 2026 | Boatman Spirits

Tickets + Sponsorships (https://onecau.se/beyondthehorizon)

The horizon looks different for everyone. Together, we help move it forward.

Click here for an update from NextStep Raleigh!

09/21/2026

This is a note from Karen Thor, Founder of NextStep Raleigh. I posted this on my FB page on Friday but Sandy reminded me it should also be on NextStep's page, so here it is! September 18 marked the 8th anniversary of the opening of NextStep Raleigh. What started out first and foremost as a place for my son, Michael Thor, to continue his journey of recovery after a C2 spinal cord injury in 2015 has turned into, as planned, a place where anyone living with a paralyzing neurological illness or injury can come to regain movement, strength, health and hope for the future.
A lot of people have helped make NSR a success. I'd like to mention a few here. In the beginning it was just me, Yolanda Ortiz, David Wright and Arlene Lois Peters . The four of us built shelves, ordered our first three or four pieces of equipment and got our first several clients. Emma Bailey, Brandon Lawrence, Ben Mauzé, Jose Royo, Amanda Hicks, Gracie Chriscoe, Kelly De La Cruz, Kay Straughn - I'm talking about you!
Since then we've had so many great trainers. Jeramie Gray joined us as Director of Training and has made a huge impact, as have (to name a few - sorry if I missed someone) Kaylee Dolphin, Sam Pasnon, Bolaji Oshin, Travis Jones, Oluwole Thompson (O) and Demonica Stanley (D) who have all left their own indelible marks. Our current crew of trainers - Ethan Brown, Ty Triggs, Jaylen Green, Cade Williams and O - continue the tradition of providing excellent, innovative activity-based training with the addition of new, exciting equipment like the ONWARD ARC-EX for hand and arm movement (and actually a lot more).
We now have approximately 35 clients, a number that is growing almost daily. Over our 8 years, we have served hundreds and made their bodies stronger and their lives better. Our new executive director, Sandy Bridger, is always working hard behind the scenes organizing fundraisers, updating and writing new policies and procedures, and getting our name and reputation out on social media and just doing all the work required to run this organization. It's an all-encompassing, hard job. I know. I did it for 7 years and thank Sandy a million times for taking it off of me! Finally a big THANK YOU to all our board members, past and present, who have made such a positive impact on our rehab center.
THANK YOU to all involved in making NextStep Raleigh a success and a resource for people living with paralysis. We couldn't have gotten to this amazing anniversary without you! Here's to many more!!
Enjoy some early pics.

09/19/2026

We love supporting the community that supports NextStep Raleigh.

Executive Director Sandy Bridger stopped by the Wendy Perry Designs trunk show at J.McLaughlin North Hills and had such a great time celebrating two local brands that continue to show up for our community.

are always grateful for the businesses, designers, and friends who support the work of NextStep Raleigh, and we are just as happy to return that support whenever we can.

Community really does come full circle.

Thank you, Wendy Perry Designs and J.McLaughlin North Hills, for being part of ours.

09/18/2026

Eight years.

It is hard not to pause and reflect on how far we have come.

What began as a vision has grown into a strong and determined community where people living with paralysis and other neurological conditions can continue to pursue recovery, strength, independence, and possibility.

Over the past eight years, we have seen progress in every sense of the word. We have grown our programs, expanded our impact, welcomed more families into our community, and continued creating a place where hope and hard work meet every day.

NextStep Raleigh turning 8 is more than a milestone. It is a celebration of every client, family member, trainer, donor, volunteer, partner, and supporter who has helped build this community.

We are proud of how far we have come, grateful for everyone who has been part of the journey, and excited for all that is still ahead.

Here’s to 8 years of impact and everything still to come.