2009 SPINAL CORD SOCIETY FUND DRIVE I would like to introduce you to the annual membership fund raiser for the Spinal Cord Society (SCS) in it's drive to cure spinal cord injury. I’m extending to you the opportunity to donate to our cause if you so desire. WHO ARE WE-- SCS consists of a national headquarters in Fergus Falls and over 200 chapters around the world. I am a member of the Twin Cities chapter and it is our job to raise the money to fund our research. We are all volunteer so 100% of the money we raise can go to research. Then we monitor our researchers to make sure that OUR goals are being met. After all, unlike many other outfits, we are not trying to make a living out of finding a cure, we are doing it. WHAT RESEARCH DO WE FUND?-- The big difference with us is that we own and operate our own private, independent research lab. No longer are there any outside distractions for our researchers, such as classes to teach and competing agendas to deal with, and no more bureaucratic interference holding up progress. We are free to use and combine the best of all available research, along with our own. This should and has dramatically increased the race to a cure because now OUR researchers have just one thing to do-- find a CURE for spinal cord injuries. WHY AM I ASKING-- In order to remain independent, this research lab is funded solely by the activities of the chapters. Our chapter has run two golf tournaments this year, along with a few other individual efforts, but this Appeal Letter is something all of us, most of whom are in wheelchairs, can participate in. I wish I didn’t have to ask for donations but it’s the best way I can do my part. Besides, this way there are no expenses eating away at your money. Your donation will be added to all the others that I, and the rest of us in our chapter, are asking for and together we can turn whatever you can give into a big number. (See research update on back.) WHAT CAN YOU DO-- If you would like to contribute to our cause, please fill out the form below and send it, along with your donation made out to SCS, to the return address listed. Please accept this as my THANKS for anything and everything you can give. -Please check with your employer to see if they have a matching fund program for charitable donations. This is an easy way to double your contribution. Just get and fill out your part of the form and send it with your donation. Thanks. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE TRY TO RETURN BEFORE OR ABOUT DEC. 20, 2009 _____________________________ Return to---- _____________________________ Name ________________________________________________ _____________________________ I would like to contribute- __$10 __$15 __$20 __$25 __$50 __$100 Other $_______ Make check out to- Spinal Cord Society or SCS. All donations are fully tax deductible. Visa __ MasterCard __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ Exp. date ___ ___ “A QUANTUM LEAP CONFIRMED“ Last year our research center made a huge breakthrough where we, for the first time anywhere in the world, produced not just nerve regeneration, but actual refunction to the tune of a solid 20-30% return in the adult, chronic spinal cord injury. SCS has been virtually alone in working solely on the chronic, or long term, injury and now we have truly exceeded what anyone else has done, even on the supposedly easier, freshly made, acutes. Our next task was to see if we could repeat and therefore verify this result, which we successfully accomplished earlier this year. We then brought in a panel of independent experts to review our work. By all accounts, they were amazed and ecstatic over what they saw. In their summation they recommended that we get this work published in the medical journals as soon as possible in order to get it to human trials “in the not too distant future”. Considering the conservative and cautious nature of research scientists, this can be considered nothing less than a ringing endorsement! This June our papers were all submitted to the journals and we are now anxiously awaiting their publication. Once we have this final validation, the path to human trials with a real cure treatment will be wide open. WE DESPERATELY NEED YOUR HELP-- With the shape of the economy right now, fundraising is down everywhere and we are no exception. In fact, it’s worse for us because we don’t take government grants. The work we are doing now is very expensive and it would be terrible to have to slow down because of a lack of money. All of the funding for our research center comes from fundraisers like this. Without your help we may not be able to keep this fast-paced research going and I will be faced with many more years of spinal cord injury than necessary. But with your help we can make a world where not only I, but all future generations can soon be free of this terrible injury.
