Today is the BIG Day for the CNADC Fundraiser!

Today is the day, 94 Flights Await

Look who made the COVER STORY of Northwestern Medical Department’s homepage! Running the Great Wall of China for the CNADC

There is one week left before the fundraiser! Please show your support for Jason Boschan and Kevin Connolly hustling up the Hancock by registering today!

Feb 24th: : CNADC Fundraiser at Rock Bottom Brewery, 6-9 PM

Location: 1 West Grand Ave, Chicago, IL, 60654

Includes beer, wine and appetizers for $40 along with a silent auction and a raffle for a chance to win great prizes!!!

Feb 26th: Hustle Up The Hancock!

Race up 94 flights of stairs!!! Representing the CNADC are Kevin Connolly and Jason Boschan running to raise awareness and funds for all patients and families fighting everyday against PPA!

For questions, please contact Kevin Connolly at 312-503-2832 or [email protected]

One week & counting for the Northwestern CNADC Fundraiser

One Week Away, 94 Flights Await!

Look who made the COVER STORY of Northwestern Medical Department’s homepage! Running the Great Wall of China for the CNADC

There is one week left before the fundraiser! Please show your support for Jason Boschan and Kevin Connolly hustling up the Hancock by registering today!

Feb 24th: CNADC Fundraiser at Rock Bottom Brewery, 6-9 PM

Location:  1 West Grand Ave, Chicago, IL, 60654

Includes beer, wine and appetizers for $40 along with a silent auction and a raffle for a chance to win great prizes!!!

  Feb 26th: Hustle Up The Hancock!

Race up 94 flights of stairs!!! Representing the CNADC are Kevin Connolly and Jason Boschan running to raise awareness and funds for all patients and families fighting everyday against PPA!

For questions, please contact Kevin Connolly at 312-503-2832 or [email protected]

Northwestern CNADC Fundrasier in Windy City

You are invited to the first ever

CNADC Community Fundraiser

with special guest Jason Boschan

 Jason Boschan and Kevin Connolly are running up the 94 floors of the Hancock building to raise funds for dementia research at the Northwestern University Alzheimer’s Disease Center. Please come and show your support by joining them at this fundraiser.

Jason is running the Great Wall of China Marathon in May 2012 to honor his grandfather and others battling this disease.He will be in Chicago the weekend of February 24-26 to run Hustle Up the Hancock as part of his training.

 Event Details

Date: February 24th, 2012

Place: Rock Bottom Brewery

Location: 1 West Grand Ave, Chicago, IL, 60654

Time: 6:00-9:00 PM

Tickets: $40 includes beer, wine and appetizers.

There will be a silent auction and a raffle with a chance to win great prizes.

For questions, please contact Kevin Connolly at 312-503-2832 or [email protected]

2012 Northwestern CNADC Fundraiser

 

You are invited to the first ever

CNADC Community Fundraiser

with special guest Jason Boschan

 

Jason Boschan has partnered with the CNADC to raise funds in support of dementia research. Jason’s grandfather, Dr. Louis “Papa” Heyman, a pediatrician for 50+ years, was diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia (PPA), a dementia that makes a person progressively lose the ability to communicate and comprehend language.

Jason is running the Great Wall of China Marathon in May 2012 to honor his grandfather and others battling this disease. He will be in Chicago the weekend of February 24-26 to run Hustle Up the Hancock (94 flights) as part of his training.

Please come out and support Jason’s journey and help him reach his goal of raising $50,000 for PPA research at the CNADC.

 Event Details

February 24th, 201

Rock Bottom Brewery

            1 West Grand Ave, Chicago, IL, 60654

Time:  6:00-9:00 PM

Tickets: $40 includes beer, wine and appetizers.

There will be a silent auction and a raffle with a chance to win great prizes.

                       

Click here to view Jason’s video!

For questions, please contact Kevin Connolly at 312-503-2832 or [email protected]

 

Turkey Bowl V…For Papa and PPA

 F.A.M.I.L.Y. 10, Dark Team 7 

Day 135 of 315: Turkey Bowl V pushes overall donation total past $30,000!

The 5th Annual Turkey Bowl began like many years before with each team getting together for their own pre-game rituals (which will remain behind closed doors for tradition-sake), and meeting at Andover Field at 9am sharp, on Black Friday morning. The F.A.M.I.L.Y. always rides together while The Dark Team inevitably drives separately per their mantra “You are family. We are individuals” infamously coined by Andrew Sherman, #15 of the Dark Team. As we approached the football gridiron, we could see The Dark Team warming up. We always try to arrive before them, but alas, they beat us every year.

Like many traditions (seemingly superstitions repeated because they worked in years past), The F.A.M.I.L.Y. locks arm-in-arm and walks toward the field only to sprint from the end zone to the 50 yard line. This year, we added a new element to the mix by taking a knee (not an homage to Tebow for you Gator lovers) and screamed at the top of our lungs “Faaaaaaaaaammmmmmmmily” followed by the blowing of a shofar (for effect of course) and sprinted to midfield to warm-up.

Before Turkey Bowl V officially kicked off, our special guest of honor “Papa,” walked out for two ceremonial acts. The first presentation was on behalf of both teams who graciously came together in support of Papa and PPA for our annual game. We raised $1,650 from players, friends and family in support of the Run4Papa campaign going directly to fund research at the Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease Center at Northwestern University. Secondly, we were honored to have Papa flip the coin for possession. He was so excited to participate that at Thanksgiving dinner, he was showing me his coin flipping motion time and time again. Michael, the captain for the Dark Team chose tails, and as fate would have it, it turned up heads. “You brought a ringer” one of the players shouted and with that intensity level, Turkey Bowl V was underway.

Each touchdown is worth 1 point and the first team to 10 points wins. The F.AM.I.L.Y. chose to defer until the second half and started on defense. We got an immediate 3-and-out and went on offense. Neither team could score on its first 3 possessions. Eventually, The F.A.M.I.L.Y. went ahead 1-0 only to be matched right away by the Dark Team. The nerves and tension were palpable and with no timeouts, subs, or stoppage in the game besides switching sides or temporary injuries, players have to be ready for an adrenaline filled morning. At 2-2, The Dark Team’s rookie quarterback, Dakota, threw an interception which ultimately led to a 3-2, then 4-2 lead for The F.A.M.I.L.Y. At 5-2, the Dark Team made several interceptions (Rogers) and defensive stands of their own to close the gap at 6-4 by halftime.

Last year, the game was 5-5 at halftime. The Dark Team ended up running away with the game winning 10-6 convincingly and we vowed not to let this repeat happen again. Two hours into the game, the jawing continued and emotions were running high as The F.A.M.I.L.Y. led 7-4. The Dark Team was gaining solid yardage by transitioning to a “hurry-up” offense which forced us to adjust from zone to man-to-man coverage; that is, until yours truly got beat on back-to-back plays! As a result, we switched back to zone defense. With the score at 9-6 in favor of The F.A.M.I.L.Y., player’s calves were cramping, their bodies were hurting and each stop was vital to maintain momentum. But like all great rivalries, neither team nor player would EVER admit to hurting and broke through numerous mental and physical walls because of what the next 364 days brings for the loser: utter disappointment and shame.

The last touchdown is always the hardest.

We couldn’t score and we were having a tough time stopping their rookie Quarterback. He was elusive and poised throughout the afternoon. As the score tightened to 9-7, and after every cliché had been spoken in the huddles and between teammates, our quarterback Dustin lead our team down the field by scrambling like a man determined not to be defeated. He lead our team all day and toward the end zone for a 10-7 victory!

The 3-hour melee finally came to an end. Both teams shook hands and we posed for a couple post-game pictures as is our tradition. As players left the field, each person signed the check that was presented to “Papa” at the pre-game ceremony. We all headed off to a local pizza joint called Buddy’s to eat homemade minestrone soup, salad and some of the tastiest square slices the great state of Michigan has to offer.

As part of our newest tradition, the winning team gets to choose the charity of choice for next year…o, and enjoy the victory for the next 364 days!

Watch the pre-game festivities video: Run4Papa Meets Turkey Bowl V

To see photos, go to: Turkey Bowl V

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Turkey Bowl V

Turkey Bowl V…For Papa & PPA

GameDay: 365 Days of Waiting…0 days to go!

Who wants it more?

 

To donate, go to: PPA Research and Education Fund (Run4Papa)

Where & When? Andover Field –  November 25th, 2011, 9:00 AM

What happens when arch rivals decide to come together ONE day a year over Thanksgiving weekend? Time to pick a side!!!

For years, we have had an annual Thanksgiving day game in Detroit and I am not referring to the Detroit Lions. The game is known as The Turkey Bowl and always kicks-off on Black Friday in our hometown of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. The rules are simple: whichever team scores 10 touchdowns first wins. We play an aggressive game of 2-hand touch where inevitably someone is walking off the field injured. Not surprisingly, our shirts are white and theirs are black (insert any creative metaphor you like here). Make no mistake, this is an extremely heated rivalry between two teams: F.A.M.I.L.Y. versus The DARK Team.

BUT this year, we have the notion of a greater good being a fundamental staple for our annual game. We want to come together to support a cause by fundraising for not only this year’s game but all future games down the line. With that premise, we present: The Turkey Bowl V Meets Run4Papa Challenge  to help raise awareness and funds for those fighting PPA each and every day.

The minimum goal is a $1,000. 

Each player is going to pledge X amount as well as promote the game and cause together in hopes of spreading the word about PPA and getting others in the community to be part of this annual event. 100% of all donations go to fund research.

The winner of the Turkey Bowl gets to choose the charity for next year so besides bragging rights and pride, this incentive adds so much more to the rivalry.

The F.A.M.I.LY. – consists of my younger two brothers, my first cousin, and 3 of our closest family friends. We have no egos, we are unselfish, we have no names on the backs of our jerseys and we don’t care who scores so long as we come out victorious. We are unified.

The Dark Team – a bunch of highly fueled competitors who we have grown up with that come together one day a year to go up against us. They constantly replace teammates on a yearly basis if they don’t perform. Nonetheless, do not be fooled. They are highly individually talented, but when put together, things can get chaotic. “You guys are family. We are individuals.” – Andrew Sherman, member of the Dark Team.

Officially, The F.A.M.I.L.Y. leads the overall series 3-1; however, the DARK team won convincingly last year and are looking to retain the title and repeat. Just like Michigan v. Ohio State, both squads look forward to this game for 364 days a year and bragging rights are everything. Losing last year has left the most sour taste in our mouth and I can’t fathom how they dealt with it the previous 1,095 days before!

We have a couple special surprises in store and look forward to competing head-to-head on the field.

If you have any questions, please email: [email protected]

*DONATE NOW*

2. Enter $$$ next PPA Research and Education Fund (RUN4PAPA) – then continue to step 2
3. Scroll to the bottom: In the comments section, write Turkey Bowl V
4. Fill out personal info and you’re finished making a difference and enriching the Turkey Bowl

The 32 Rules of Thanksgiving Touch Football

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LPL Financial Food Fundraiser

 Cooking for the Cause

Due to the positive swell of voting and support for What Would You Do For THE CAUSE? video from employees at LPL Financial, and unbeknownst to myself, our senior management team took an unexpected initiative and approved a food fundraiser to benefit the Run4Papa campaign the day the charity contest totals were announced. Kathy, one of the managers on theNew Accounts Team in Charlotte and well-known for her culinary skills (she could easily be mistaken for a gourmet chef if she weren’t working in finance full-time) lead the way. Minus the cost of food, all contributions would go directly to fund research for PPA.

Kathy offered to cook twice during the week. On Monday, she prepared chicken curry with rice while on Friday, she cooked stir fry with spicy noodles ($5 a plate). Both days included spring rolls (2 for $1) and cupcakes ($1) which were handmade by her daughters.

Our entire team was emailed the Run4Papa Meets LPL Food Fundraiser flyer. On Monday morning, Kathy prepared a massive cauldron of her homemade chicken curry with over 300 spring rolls and 80 cupcakes to compliment the main dish. Several co-workers paid in advance and requested Kathy set aside their plates due to meetings during our lunch break; some even requested multiple plates – one for lunch and one for dinner (they had sampled her food in the past).

We brought the food up to our break room and before we finished setting up shop, a line had already formed. The mix of curry spices, chicken, vegetables and rice was emanating throughout our floor; the smell alone would make you salivate. We went through all the chicken curry within an hour and had repeat customers for the spring rolls. In the latter part of the afternoon, we walked from floor to floor selling the remaining spring rolls and cupcakes.

Word of mouth spread about Kathy’s cooking from earlier in the week and people from not only our department but numerous others lined up to eat, donate, and express their praise about the campaign. Similar to Monday, the stir fry with spicy noodles and egg rolls went quickly. Moreover, there were people who would donate more than the cost of their food and others who had brought their own lunch but wanted to contribute to the cause.

The takeaway from the LPL food fundraiser amounted to $489! On top of that, Kathy made the donation on behalf of our New Accounts team which ended up being doubled through our firm’s matching program. Overall, the success of the food fundraiser attracted people’s immediate attention, raised awareness for PPA, and collected monies to the tune of $978!

My co-workers had clearly been inspired by the video and previously had no idea about PPA, let alone the symptoms of the disease. I am proud the PPA video produced this type of positive reaction and thus created more awareness about this widely unknown dementia.

Hopefully this video will enable people to take more notice of those battling this disease, and one day with that mentality, PPA will be as familiar to people as Alzheimer’s is today…

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LPL Financial Charity Contest

Voting for the Cause

I always had the goal of producing a creative video to help create more exposure and awareness for PPA research before the New Year. This idea quiclkly became fast-tracked due to my company, LPL Financial, offering a $500 prize for best charity video, $250 for 2nd place, and $100 for 3rd place. Since I won the last two firm wide competitions-one for our New Accounts Team and another to cover our Annual Conference as a “Rovering Reporter”-I knew people would be gunning to knock me off.  In fact, I got emails internally stating that “You will not 3-peat” and “I was going down.” With this type of incentive and motivation, I wanted to craft a movie that would instantly grab the viewers attention as well as educate people about this relatively unknown disease.

I needed an idea that was fresh and would stick in people’s minds longer than 5 minutes after they saw the footage.

I brainstormed the idea of a silent movie with cue cards explaining the symptoms of PPA and why fighting to raise awareness for research is absolutely essential. The original premise was to stand in a dimly lit room with a spotlight pointed squarly on my body dropping cue cards one at a time while music playing in the background. About 10 minutes into filming, my friend Brad and I realized this wasn’t going to work nor be as effective as we wanted to portray.

We talked about it and came up with something special.

Instead of solely standing in one place dropping card after card, why not venture around Charlotte (my current place of residence) and take photos with the cue cards all over the city? This approach would defintely captivate people’s attention by demanding they not only read each written phrase but also have a scenic visual along the journey. The concept was so moving that we went out that evening and started shooting.

Over the course of the next couple days, we photographed all our shots, edited the movie and blended in background music. I submitted the video to my company for firm-wide voting and qualified in the Top 3. The 3 videos included:

a) Unchained Dogs – building fences for dog owners so they don’t have to chain their dogs down for fear they will run away.

b) Rescue Mission Farm Project – growing fresh produce for those in need in the Temecula and north San Diego County regions.

c) What would you do for THE CAUSE? – creating awareness and research for PPA while bringing light to a disease that over 1,000,000 people fight everyday.

The voting period went from Monday-Friday and on Thursday morning, the 3 of us received an email – 1st Place: Unchained Dogs (113), 2nd Place: PPA Video (101), 3rd Place: Rescue Mission (76). I immediately assembled a meeting with my AVP’s and managers in hopes of spreading the word amongst my firm by establishing a marketing strategy that targeted all 3 of our office locations: Boston, San Diego and Charlotte. The hardest part about generating exposure is ensuring people take a couple minutes out of their busy day to be cognizant of what’s going on. While voting on the video contest will clearly benefit all charities involved, with all work responsibilities we have on a daily basis, this competition can easily get lost in the shuffle of daily emails and routine homepage postings.

Since my SVP has strong working relationships with our Boston office, I asked him to email the executives and get them to view the videos for voting. One of my AVP’s worked in San Diego for years, and I insisted she email all the managers out west and make them aware of the competition. Lastly, I decided to personally email each employee on our marketing and sales teams about the closely contested race and provided them with a direct link to the movies. They now had every opportunity to watch the video submissions and make an informed decision.

The next morning, I got a phone call from corporate communications, “You Won! How did you get so many votes?  What was your secret? We will email you the final totals by lunch.”

Final Totals: 1st Place: PPA (245), 2nd Place: Unchained Dogs (145), 3rd Place: Rescue Farm Mission (131).

The hidden secret to the massive swing in votes for this race was nothing that secretive at all, rather what we are always trying to promote for this campaign: AWARENESS! When people are presented with information about this disease and cause, they take notice.  Managers sent emails to their teams, employees emailed one another and I received loads of complimentary emails from fellow co-workers. Even from the guy who said “You will not 3-Peat!

Substance = Results.

It doesn’t take much to spread the word, just a couple minutes out of your day. And for spreading the word, Run4Papa raised another $500 for research thanks to the employees at LPL Financial taking a couple minutes out of their day to learn more about a disease they had never heard of moments before…

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The results are IN!

Goodbye $20,000, HELLO $50,000!

Thank you to everyone that reunited with my “Papa” and supported the climb of 5,164!  I could not have imagined the fundraiser being anymore successful: over 150 guests came to support the journey as well as hundreds whom mailed in contributions before & after the big day. We have tallied the totals:

  • Total raised for Support the Climb of 5,164 ($1/step) –  $19,427
  • Total overall raised to date – $24,915
  • NEW GOAL – $50,000

Due to the massive global support of this campaign, we reached our initial goal far quicker than we envisioned.  We are so thankful and appreciative for all the words of encouragement and realize this journey has so much more potential ahead.

As you may be aware by now, I originally set the goal of $20,000 as a barometer for the Run 4 Papa campaign to create awareness and raise funds for PPA research. When I was staring at a blank screen 94 short days ago with a thermometer that showed $0 at the bottom and a 20K at the top, I had no idea how short or long it would take to achieve this goal.

It takes a lot of people to make this happen, and believe me, I have had plenty of help from family, friends and complete strangers willing to offer their time and advice to move this campaign forward and create exposure for PPA and those battling this disease every day.

As a direct result of that effort and time, we are raising the new goal to $50,000.  We realize this is quite ambitious but I am confident that with the same work mentality, help, and support, this new goal can and WILL be reached over the remaining 210 days before the Great Wall of China Marathon.

I greatly appreciate the support and please continue to spread the good word about this cause.

A film dedicated for all people diagnosed with PPA that struggle to communicate but are fighting everyday – Run4Papa is behind you!

To watch video of the event, go to: Support the Climb of 5,164

To see photos from the fundraiser, go to: Reunite with Dr. Louis “Papa” Heyman

Thank you so much to all the Gold, Silver and In-Kind sponsors for your willingness to contribute to this special event by funding PPA research and providing food for our guests.

Gold Sponsors

Adams Development Corporation, Allegra Printing & Imaging, Breath of Spring Florist, OrthoCarolina 10K Classic, Sellers Orthdontics, Raymour & Flanigan Furniture

 Silver Sponsors

Bienenstock Nationwide Court Reporting & Video, Haddassah, Taubman, Nadis and Neuman (attorney&#39s-at-law), SAV-ON DRUGS

In-Kind Donations

Bake Station * Berci Letterpress Services * Brooklyn Bagel *Cherry Blossom Farms * CK Mediterranean Grille * Dakota Bread * Detroit Bagel * Diamond Bakery * Dunkin Donuts * Einstein Bros Bagel * Hiller&#39s Market * Jonny Pomodoro&#39s * Long Lake Market * Market Square * Mrs. Maddox Cake Shoppe * New York Bagel * Star Deli

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Awaiting the Results

Support the Climb of 5,164 – Donation Totals to be Released Friday 


Thank you to everyone that reunited with my “Papa” and supported the climb of 5,164!  It was a fantastic atmosphere and a memorable experience.  We won’t know the official total of donations until the end of this week as more continue to pour in online and through the mail; however, it’s fair to that that we far exceeded $5,164.  I might have to run the steps 2 or 3 times over…