Sure Steps to a Cure GRANTS AWARDED FY05
Finding a cure for ALS takes more than knowledge. It requires focus. And it requires a certain synergy among scientists, patients and their families, grant-givers and others who want the disease to end now. That’s what drives the Robert Packard Center for ALS Research—from hard work in the lab to its fund-raising events around the country. In this annual report, you’ll read about events that thrust ALS into the limelight and raised solid sums for the Center. Yes, the people behind those efforts have a personal connection to the disease, but all have said that even if a cure, so far, has eluded their loved ones, they plan to continue raising research money. One family—the Konigs of Westminster, Md.—has raised funds for 10 years, in memory of husband, father and son, Ken Konig. Through annual bull roasts, the family has amassed more than $90,000 for the Center. Likewise, for more than a decade, friends of the late Anthony Budreau, of Fort Myers, Fla., have been hosting an annual golf classic in his memory. Cumulative proceeds from that event have topped $100,000. Meanwhile, the Wertliebs, of Rockville, Md., continue their support of ALS research with an annual golf tournament in memory of husband and father, Harvey Wertlieb, who died in 2002 from the disease. Last year’s event netted $200,000 for the Center. Other families touched by ALS prefer to support us in a different way. Tip Graham, of Gainesville, Fla., for example, established an endowment in memory of his sister Kathy, who died in 2004 from complications of ALS. Recently Graham added $25,000 to the original $100,000 contribution. And the Kornfeld Foundation (see Sure Steps: Fund Raising), which provided much of the seed money for the Center five years ago, has remained steadfast in its support. This year they pledged another $450,000 to underwrite the cost of the Center’s monthly investigators’ meetings and annual scientific symposium for another three years. The pages that follow tell of other individuals, foundations and corporations, and the compelling research made possible by their generosity. In 2005, the Center awarded more than $1,696,373 million to fund 17 projects. The investment is already reaping dividends in terms of new discoveries.
|
