STARTING FRESH AND REBUILDING INDEPENDENCE

The Joseph Groh Foundation is honored to support Stanley Bray, a licensed electrician and small business owner from Orange Beach, Alabama, who received a Foundation grant to make critical accessibility modifications to his home.

Stanley built his career in the electrical trade, working first in Colorado and then in Alabama. “One week before my injury, I tested for and earned my Contractor’s License,” he shared. “I ran my own electrical business called HES.”

Shortly after that milestone, Stanley’s life changed in an instant when he broke his neck diving into the shallow end of the pool. “I was in the pool with my daughter and her friends and broke my neck in the shallow end,” he explained. “I drowned and had to be revived on the pool deck by my wife and then was helicoptered to the nearest trauma center.” The accident left him with a C6 spinal cord injury, resulting in quadriplegia.

After two months at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Stanley returned home facing new challenges. “This has been devastating,” he said. “In addition to the injury being costly in terms of equipment and life alterations, my wife and I have both stopped working. I am incapable of working at this time, and my wife has stopped working to care for me full time.”

When Stanley requested help from the Foundation, he explained, “I would like to expand my shower so that I can have more than bed baths. I would also like to remove the cabinet and create a sink that I can roll under in order to take care of my daily hygiene.”

Thanks to our terrific donors, these modifications have now been completed, giving Stanley safe access to a roll-under sink and an accessible shower. “I am now able to wash my face, brush my teeth, and comb my hair out of bed and in front of the mirror,” he said. “This has allowed me to have my first real shower in months!”

For Stanley, the impact goes far beyond convenience. “My wife and child depended on me before the accident as a father and financial provider,” he said. “All of that has been shattered, and I would like to put the pieces back together for my family.”

The Joseph Groh Foundation is grateful that we could help Stanley regain independence, restore dignity, and take meaningful steps toward rebuilding his life.

Throughout the year, The Joseph Groh Foundation provides life-changing grants that help individuals connected to the contracting industry with life-altering disabilities access essential resources—such as accessible vehicles, bathroom modifications, and rehabilitation technology—empowering them to reclaim independence. By becoming a monthly Luminary, you help propel this mission forward.