A Promise Kept: Jerry Donovan’s Mission to Help Others Thrive

Twenty-five years ago, NSM client Jerry Donovan made a promise—and he’s spent every day since keeping it.

Back then, Donovan worked for Boston Gas, fixing gas leaks throughout the city. In 1999, while driving his truck, his blood sugar suddenly dropped, causing a serious accident. The crash left Donovan—a Type 1 diabetic—with a T-6 spinal cord injury.

“In the ER, a priest came in, and I was an altar boy, so I knew why he was there,” Donovan recalls. “He was coming to give me my last rites. I made a promise to God: If you keep me alive, I promise I’ll do some good stuff.” 

It’s a promise he’s been living out for the past quarter century, as Donovan says, “for people in my position, for people going through traumatic life changes, for people who recover and for the ones who don’t.”

“People need people,” he said. “We pick each other back up when all the cards are down.” 

From Struggle to Service

Donvan’s road to recovery wasn’t easy. 

He credits Molly Sebo, a career physical therapist and clinical specialist—now executive director of SCI Boston, a chapter of the United Spinal Association—for helping him find a way forward. 

“I was a big, strong guy and a hardworking father, and the accident set me back like you can only imagine,” Donovan said. “Molly really helped me get my act together. I was so weak in the beginning that I couldn’t even push my chair up a little ramp. Things felt like they’d never change, and, if they did, never for the better. It can be very easy to become jaded.”

At first, Donovan struggled to adjust to life as a paraplegic. “I wasted a year not really listening,” he admits. But as he grew stronger, he realized he wanted to help others facing similar challenges. So, he became a peer mentor with SCI Boston, serving at Boston’s Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. 

“I would go into someone’s room and show them someone in a wheelchair with a smile on his face,” Donovan says. “I would tell them the truth: that this is going to be a difficult process, but with love and support, you can do this. 

“It’s a full-time job, plus overtime, being paralyzed and you really have to work hard to be the best person you can be with your disability,” he says. “Disability defines your character.” 

Building Community Through Golf

In 2011, Donovan took his mission further by co-founding Golf for All, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit that brings people of all abilities together on the golf course. Since then, Golf for All has organized numerous free golf clinics to help people with disabilities of all kinds enjoy the therapeutic and social benefits of golf. 

“Golf for All challenges people to get out and play nine holes with their families and friends,” Donovan says. “It really turns into a support group, and you end up having all these players out on the course who are just having fun.” 

A hockey player before his spinal cord injury, Donovan discovered adaptive golf while participating in an adaptive sports event at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. Some of the skills he’d honed as a hockey player transferred right over to golf, and Donovan loved the sport from his first swing. 

“I only drive with one arm, and back when I first started playing golf, I was always trying to hit it harder,” he says. “But now I have a nice smooth stroke and it goes straight down the middle.” 

Expanding Access, Creating Joy

Donovan is committed to increasing access to the game of golf. In partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), he helped acquire Paragolfers—adaptive devices that let wheelchair users stand and swing.

These specialized machines are available for rent at two Boston-area courses: Leo J. Martin Memorial Golf Course and Ponkapoag Golf Course.

“These machines are getting used,” Donovan says. “They’re not just for people who are paralyzed—they help people of all abilities get out on the course and have fun.”

One of Donovan’s favorite Golf for All programs is a driving range clinic for adults on the autism spectrum.

“I’ve found that adults with autism and kids with disabilities really enjoy being around others with similar abilities because no one picks on them,” he says. “We’re not playing nine holes, but they let everyone know they’ve been ‘playing golf.’ It’s about being together, outside, having fun. I love organizing and participating in it.”

Living Out His Promise

Today, Donovan continues to honor the vow he made in that ER more than two decades ago. 

“I’ve been helping people for 20 years now, and some of them have gotten better than me at golf,” he says with a laugh. “But you need that competitive fire. Keep working, keep trying to challenge yourself. Golf may not work for everyone, but find something you like to do and stay active.”