Honoring Our Heroes–There’s no better time than the Holidays to thank all those who devote their lives to keeping us safe and secure.  Unfortunately, in doing so, many members of our Armed Services have been severely injured and even paralyzed.  As promised, a portion of the proceeds from our 2010 golf outing have been donated to support our paralyzed soldiers.  Kali’s Cure decided to keep the donation close to home and contributed to Life Beyond Barriers (LBB)—a new non-profit organization that was created to help our wounded soldiers when they return from combat.  The program allows these individuals the opportunity to attend Wayne State University, participate in rehab at the Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan (RIM) and use their injury and situation to create a product that will better the lives of all those living with similar afflictions.  In donating to LBB, we are helping to ensure that the program continues and offers paralyzed troops the opportunity to be involved while also helping RIM provide rehabilitation to LBB and others living with paralysis.

Continued Giving–Fortunately, we have been able to continue our support of Dr. Raymond Onders’ Diaphragmatic Pacing Program (DPP) and University Hospitals in Cleveland. Our first donation helped the program expand to include children. Now, $200,000 later, the program has continued to grow, allowing children and adults worldwide to benefit from this life saving device. Dr. Onders has been busy traveling the world, implanting patients from the Middle East to Switzerland, Spain to Iceland and beyond. During his travels, both domestic and abroad, he is teaching other surgeons so that more patients may benefit from this life changing operation. There have been countless remarkable stories of the various patients who have been implanted…patients who want to continue their service to our country, others who have been able to return home to live with their loved ones, sports enthusiasts who can even sky dive and, miraculously, patients who have weaned themselves from the device altogether and are now breathing on their own. Our most recent donation will help the program continue to grow as well as provide excellent support for those already implanted. DPP is something that we are proud to support and look forward to helping in the future as Dr. Onders continues his amazing work and additional research.

There are so many great ways that YOU can make a difference and be part of the CURE!  Although our annual golf outing takes up a good chunk of the summer and it often appears that it’s the only activity going on, we are happy to announce that other fundraisers have also been taking place or are in the works!

Wrapping up the month of July, Tri for Kali’s Cure took place in Lexington, Michigan.  23 athletes participated in the Lexington Triathlon to support Kali’s Cure.  The group completed a 500 meter swim, 11 mike bike ride, and 5K run.  After a grueling morning, the team enjoyed the remainder of the day at the annual Stoutenburg family Luau where the participants continued to support Kali’s Cure while winding down from a tiring event!!!

On October 10, 2010, Kali’s Cure will make its second appearance in the annual Chicago Marathon.  Team Crazies, consisting of Andy and Christine Schaefer, Tom Gruca and Kathy Wheeler, will complete the 26.2 mile run through the streets of Chicago.  The group has been training for months and, despite many sore muscles and long, tiring runs, they are geared up and ready to run for the CURE!  Follow their progress throughout the marathon here.

This fall, K-Mart of Alma will host a Safety Day on October 23rd.  They have already been putting time and effort into this event by kicking off the fundraising with a car wash and spreading the word through town.  The event will conclude on Saturday the 23rd at the Alma K-mart store where there will be activities for kids of all ages.  Don’t miss the opportunity to participate in everything from facepainting and balloon pops to touring firetrucks and talking with local police officers.  A special thanks to the Alma K-Mart store for hosting and putting on the event.  All proceeds from this event will benefit Kali’s Cure .

Now that school is back in session, there are numerous ways for students of all ages to participate in their own fundraising efforts or simply undertaking projects to spread the word about Kali’s Cure and spinal cord research.  If you are interested in more information, please contact kali@kaliscure.org.

As always, thanks to all those who have dedicated so much to Kali’s Cure.  The foundation would not be a success without your support.

2010 Golf Outing Wrap Up

Another successful fundraiser is now behind us! The third annual Kali’s Cure golf outing took place at Dunmaglas Golf Club on Saturday, July 31st  and, despite challenging times, it was our most successful event to date! With the help of countless sponsors, donors and volunteers, we far surpassed our goal, generating $160,000 with less than 2% in expenses! We are excited to continue to donate to more worthy spinal cord causes. Over the past year, we have again supported Diaphragmatic Pacing and ventured into a new area, helping paralyzed individuals continue to have fun while participating in extreme and intense therapies. This year, Kali’s Cure is proud to share part of the proceeds from the golf outing with our paralyzed troops, injured while serving our country.  World renowned doctor, Raymond Onders, joined us again to share stories about Diaphragm Pacing and how Kali’s Cure makes a difference in the lives of those living with SCI. Dr. Onders took this opportunity to speak about one of his recent patients that is a soldier, paralyzed in combat who is the first quadriplegic member of the military to receive the pacer.  The speech touched everyone and inspired the group as we all learned of the patient’s desire to continue his service in any way that he is able.

We had a perfect day with the skies parting in time for tee off and golfers had a great time competing for bragging rights and prizes. Congratulations to our winners: Frank Beckmann, Jeff Champine, and Aaron Hager! Our returning champions took home the title again this year but had a run for their money as they shared the spotlight with co-winners: Tom Porter, Scott Porter, John Barkman and Jeff Remiersma! The event concluded with an auction hosted by radio great Frank Beckmann with Bill (Huge) Simonson assisting with some sports memorabilia.

Thanks to many generous donors, we received countless auction items ranging from authentic, autographed sports memorabilia to signed guitars, golf packages, gift baskets, vacations and many other unique items. Although it’s hard to imagine that we will be able to surpass this year’s event, plans are already underway to make next year’s event even better! More photographs, stories and winners from this year’s event will be posted soon along with information on how you can get involved early for the 2011 event!

Kali’s Cure Third Annual Golf Outing and Charity Auction

Dunmaglas Golf Club, Charlevoix, Michigan

On July 31^st, Kali’s Cure will host its third annual golf outing and charity auction at Dunmaglas Golf Club in Charlevoix, Michigan.  With stunning views of Lake Michigan and awe inspiring terrain, this four player scramble offers golfers the opportunity to experience Northern Michigan’s Masterpiece while having fun supporting a great cause!  Each team includes cart and green fees, a hospitality gift, dinner and awards.  Part of the proceeds from the day’s events will support our soldiers who have suffered spinal cord injuries while serving our country.  The remainder of the proceeds will be used to spread the word about paralysis and support research and rehabilitation leading to a cure.

After suffering a paralyzing diving accident in 2006, Michigan native, Kali Pung, founded Kali’s Cure for Paralysis Foundation.  Pung has been fortunate to receive great care and support of family and friends but, after seeing the best and worst that medicine has to offer, she realized that not everyone has the same opportunities.  Kali has made it her goal, through Kali’s Cure, to help find a cure for paralysis and to better the lives of those living with spinal cord injuries (SCI).  Although she remains paralyzed from the neck down, she has seen advancements that far surpass anything doctors thought possible and believes that it’s only a matter of time before there is a cure.

Kali’s Cure prides itself on seeking the best places to support, including world renowned spinal cord hospitals, diaphragmatic pacing programs, and foundations that promote intense physical rehabilitation.  The foundation is uniquely positioned to use personal experience to find the best programs, spanning the entire country from Grand Rapids to Denver to Cleveland and beyond.  Kali’s Cure strongly believes that every dollar raised should go directly to the cause and, therefore, over 97% of all money raised is used to fund research and rehabilitation.  For more information about Kali’s Cure and the causes they support as well as details regarding the upcoming golf and charity weekend, please visit www.kaliscure.org.

The event is not limited to golfers.  The evening will conclude with verbal and silent auctions, dinner, cocktails, guest speakers and, most importantly, fun!!!  To register your team and sign up for any part of the festivities, visit www.kaliscure.org or email kali@kaliscure.org.

Kali’s Cure for Paralysis Foundation | 5475 Blue Heron Dr. | Alma, MI  48801

989.463.3940 | kali@kaliscure.org | www.kaliscure.org

501(C)3 EIN: 262473236

The Kali’s Cure Spring 2010 Newsletter is now available.  Please click on the link below to read all about the latest happenings at Kali’s Cure!

Newsletter Email Spring 2010