Emily Progin, Content Manager
[email protected] / 800.642.8399
Release: Immediate
$40,000 RAISED & REHAB IN PROGRESS FOR CALLIE ACETO
24-Year-Old Living with Paralysis Since Struck by Car in September 2025
Burlington, Va.—In September, 24-year-old Callie Aceto and her family will recognize 1 year since the day their lives changed. Callie was struck by a speeding car in Burlington in September 2025 and has been living with paralysis ever since. The family will not receive restitution for the injury, so instead, the community is rallying to provide support through the national nonprofit Help Hope Live.
A fundraising campaign has now surpassed $40,000 raised in Callie’s honor.
Donations are tax deductible at: https://helphopelive.org/campaign/26405/
The University of Wisconsin Whitewater grad worked for the Flynn Theatre and the Vermont Lake Monsters basketball team and stayed highly active in her downtime with hiking, baking, concerts, travel, watching women’s soccer, and cheering on the Bruins and the Blackhawks.
Callie was medically stabilized following the paralyzing injury and then transferred to Spaulding Rehabilitation in Boston. She completed 6 weeks of intensive inpatient rehabilitation on November 20, 2025. Callie and her mother moved to Boston to make ongoing intensive rehab possible.
She started outpatient therapy in January and received a permanent wheelchair in February. Callie has had to learn how to navigate wheelchair use both at home and on the go, including how to get in and out of a vehicle—something that was impossible for her before her rehabilitation.
“First stops were Target and the grocery store,” explained friend Emily Christener. “Hopeful future next stops one day? Concerts, sporting events, and back into the workforce.”
As Callie and her family have faced significant physical, mental, and medical hardship, her community has rallied to help ensure a medical crisis doesn’t become a financial crisis through the national nonprofit Help Hope Live. Callie was referred to Help Hope Live for fundraising from the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation.
Because Callie’s injury and the accident that caused it will not result in financial restitution for the family through the legal system, fundraising is their one essential lifeline for Callie’s future.
The community raised over $9,800 in the first week and over $40,000 since the start of the campaign in Callie’s honor.
Emily said, “Callie is as headstrong and determined as ever. She has her sights set on living a full life, and her community can help her get there. Donations are helping her mom to manage her care and keeping Callie on the path of recovery, strength, and eventual independence with her disability.”
Funds raised have already made a meaningful difference, but out-of-pocket costs remain significant, particularly the cost of relocation closer to their home area to reconnect with family and pursue specialized care.
Donations can be made at: https://helphopelive.org/campaign/26405/
Unlike a GoFundMe campaign, donations to Help Hope Live are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law, and all funds raised will be administered by the nonprofit to cover verified medical and related expenses. Help Hope Live verifies medical and financial need for every patient.
Help Hope Live is a national nonprofit that specializes in engaging communities in secure, tax-deductible fundraising campaigns for people who need a transplant or are affected by a catastrophic injury or illness. Since 1983, campaigns organized by Help Hope Live have raised over $194 million to pay patient expenses, assisting more than 25,000 patient families. ###
