A local hero who works to make life better for people with disabilities will have his picture appear on a special edition Cheerios box as part of a national campaign organized by Veterans Affairs, VA Canteen Services and General Mills. The campaign honors 12 select gold medal winners of the 28th National Veterans Wheelchair Games. Rory Cooper, who uses a wheelchair as a result of injuries suffered in military service, is the only Pennsylvania veteran featured in the campaign.

Dr. Cooper is a decorated Army veteran and one of the world's foremost authorities on wheelchair design. He is director of the Human Engineering Research Laboratories, a partnership between the University of Pittsburgh, UPMC and the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System; a distinguished professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology at Pitt's School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences; a professor of bioengineering at Pitt's Swanson School of Engineering; and a VA senior career scientist.

The special-edition Cheerios box will be sold exclusively in military markets and VA Canteen Services retail stores.