CURES

3001 - The Michael J Fox Foundation (Parkinson’s) – www.michaeljfox.org

Mission Statement - The Michael J. Fox Foundation is dedicated to finding a cure for Parkinson’s disease through an aggressively funded research agenda and to ensuring the development of improved therapies for those living with Parkinson’s today.

The MJFF Funding Philosophy - The path from research discovery to the creation of a new treatment is often an extremely long one. The average time for the development of a new central nervous system treatment is currently 13 years.

The Michael J. Fox Foundation is helping to speed up drug development for PD with innovative strategies that identify roadblocks along the therapeutic development pipeline. By sharing the risk of drug development with academic and industry researchers alike, we hope to increase the movement of new treatments into the clinic.

The Michael J. Fox Foundation is dedicated to helping develop better treatments for Parkinson's patients and, ultimately, curing the disease. That's why we work to identify and quickly fund the research with the best chance of leading to new treatments.

The projects we fund generally fall into one of two categories:

Research exploring specific therapeutic approaches that will lead to the development of Parkinson's treatments

Research to develop tools and resources that will, in turn, speed the creation of Parkinson's treatment

3002 - Cure International www.helpcurenow.org

Mission Statement - CURE International transforms the lives of disabled children and their families in the developing world through medical and spiritual healing, serving all by establishing specialty teaching hospitals, building partnerships, and advocating for these children.

We're About Healing - CURE is passionate about the physical and spiritual healing of disabled children in developing countries. As a Christian nonprofit organization, this is our passion and the foundation of what we have been doing for ten years.

It's not an overstatement to call ourselves CURE International: we've focused our energies and resources on the 125 million children in developing countries who can be cured - and cured completely. Specifically, we're helping the kids with Hydrocephalus, Cleft Palate, Club Foot, Spina Bifida and other spinal deformities, and crippling orthopedic conditions. Seven hundred thousand children have already had their lives transformed by the touch of CURE...and their families have experienced equally miraculous transformations in their own lives.

3003 - PSI (Populations Services International) Youth Aids – www.youthaids.org

YouthAIDS and PSI are working in more than 60 countries around the world to help stop the spread of HIV/AIDS, especially among the world's most vulnerable, young people. Our approach stresses self-empowerment and healthy decision-making among youth, including the use of effective health products and services such as HIV counseling and testing. Our approach targets and educates at-risk youth groups through a variety of ways, including the use of music and television, peer education and community mobilization.

With your $10 contribution, we are able to provide one youth with a year of necessary health products, services and valuable health education to help educate and protect them against HIV.

Web Site Statistics:

Every day, over 6800 people contract HIV and over 5700 die from AIDS.

33.2 million people are living with HIV.

AIDS kills one child every minute

3004 - The Breast Cancer Research Foundation – www.bcrfcure.org

The mission of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation® is to achieve prevention and a cure for breast cancer in our lifetime by providing critical funding for innovative clinical and translational research at leading medical centers worldwide, and increasing public awareness about good breast health. A minimum of 85 cents of every dollar goes to research and awareness programs.

The Foundation is proud to be funding 166 of the most brilliant scientists who are developing innovative ideas at every level to build upon their individual discoveries and to find new synergies to advance breast cancer research.

3005 - Autism Research Institute – www.autism.com

The Autism Research Institute (ARI) is the hub of a worldwide network of parents and professionals concerned with autism. ARI was founded in 1967 to conduct and foster scientific research designed to improve the methods of diagnosing, treating, and preventing autism. ARI also disseminates research findings to parents and others worldwide seeking help. The ARI data bank, the world's largest, contains over 40,000 detailed case histories of autistic children from over 60 countries.

The Autism Research Institute (ARI) is proud to be the only autism non-profit to be awarded the coveted 'Four Star Award" by Charity Navigator for sound fiscal management. ARI is even prouder of its unique track record in funding research projects which have made a real difference in discovering the true causes of autism, and developing effective treatments that bring about recovery from autism.

ARI-funded research has dispelled the conventional belief that autism is always an untreatable lifelong disability. ARI funds research intended to bring results, and not to demonstrate "political correctness." ARI funds research on controversial topics, including the role of environmental toxins and thimerosal in vaccines causing the autism epidemic -- topics ignored and avoided by the larger, mainstream organizations. Thousands of parents and physicians worldwide credit ARI with bringing recovery or near-recovery to autistic patients.

3006 - Sansum Diabetes Research Institute – www.sansum.org

Sansum Diabetes Research Institute is a research center devoted to the prevention, treatment and cure of diabetes. Dr. William D. Sansum founded the non profit organization in 1944 and brought renown to Santa Barbara in 1922 as the first physician in the U.S. to administer life-saving insulin to patients with diabetes.

Today, under the leadership of Lois Jovanovič, M.D., Sansum Diabetes Research Institute remains an extraordinary place, where diabetes research, nutrition, education, and diabetes prevention have improved the lives of people worldwide who suffer from this serious disease. The Institute has gained international recognition for work on methods to detect and chart the progress of diabetes, its success in developing protocols to increase the incidence of healthy babies born to women with diabetes, and its work on type 2 diabetes in young people. Physicians and researchers continue to develop new treatment protocols for people with diabetes. New drugs and medical devices are clinically tested to ensure their efficacy and safety.

Clinical Trials - Our clinical trials department, currently located on the second floor of the Sansum Diabetes Research Institute, is currently involved in approximately 15 clinical trials. These trials can be subdivided into several main categories: diabetes prevention, gestational diabetes, type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, new insulin formulations, new insulin delivery systems and continuous glucose monitoring.
Our research related to diabetes prevention is part of a multicenter national study looking at genetic markers in family members of people with type 1 diabetes to see if they can predict which of the family members have a high risk of developing diabetes. All of the data is collected in a national database to be used in future diabetes prevention studies.

3007 - The V Foundation For Cancer Research – www.jimmyv.org

The V Foundation awards 100% of all direct cash donations and net proceeds of events to cancer research and related programs. 

Their Story - It has been just 15 years since The V Foundation for Cancer Research was founded by ESPN and Jim Valvano. And what significant work has been accomplished during that time! Since 1993, The V Foundation has raised more than $80 million and awarded cancer research grants in 38 states and the District of Columbia. Researchers have developed their laboratories and taken their science from the labs to the clinics with the help of funds raised by The V Foundation. 

The V Foundation started with the dream of Jim Valvano, the passionate and committed former NC State basketball coach and award-winning broadcaster, as he battled cancer. Wanting to see the battle through to victory, Valvano recruited friends and family to lead The V Foundation in his quest to eradicate the disease that ultimately claimed his life. With a dire need for early developmental, critical-stage grant support, the Foundation was formed to assist the brilliant young researchers that will eventually find cures for cancer. 

A relatively young organization, The V Foundation has a strong presence in the scientific community that belies its youth. The Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Board, comprised of some of the top physicians and research scientists from prominent universities and cancer centers nationwide, assures that only the cancer research projects with the most potential are funded. Thus, grant recipients funded by The V Foundation have excellent reputations within the scientific community. 

The V Foundation has an excellent track record for finding and funding elite young scientists. Between 1994 -- when the first V Scholar grants were awarded -- and 2003, The V Foundation awarded 109 V Scholar grants to promising young researchers nationwide to help them establish their laboratories. Of those V Scholars, 93 percent have received additional funding and are still working in independent labs. An additional five percent are currently working in related research. 

The V Foundation also takes great pride in its fiscal responsibility and is proud to announce that it gives 100 percent of all new direct cash donations and net event proceeds to cancer research and related programs. Recognized for its prudent fiscal management, The V Foundation has earned a top four-star rating from Charity Navigator, America’s largest charity evaluator, for a sixth consecutive rating. Receiving a top rating from Charity Navigator indicates that The V Foundation has outperformed most of its peers in its efforts to manage and grow its finances. 

3008 - Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America – www.ccfa.org

Since its inception, CCFA has invested approximately $127 million in research worldwide and funded more than 1000 grants. We invest our dollars wisely, funding the best IBD research anywhere in the world and implementing a peer-review process that insures that only the most promising and relevant grant applications are funded. 

CCFA has played a role in every major scientific breakthrough in IBD, from generating data that led to new therapies to the discovery of the first gene for Crohn's. 

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We invest in human resources:  It takes 10 years to "build" a full-fledged, senior investigator! To make sure that the most talented researchers enter and remain in the  field of IBD, CCFA provides research training awards to develop the next generation of investigators. Many of today's most prominent researchers received training awards from CCFA early in their careers. 

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We set the research agenda:  CCFA brings together the finest minds in the international scientific community (both basic and clinical) to develop and update our strategic plan for research "Challenges in IBD Research". 

CCFA research generates important data. In a 2005 survey of 200 researchers, 107 reported publishing more than 500 articles based on CCFA-funded research. 

3009 - Children’s Miracle Network – www.childrensmiraclenetwork.org

Children’s Miracle Network is a non-profit organization that raises funds for more than 170 children’s hospitals. Countless individuals, organizations and media partners unite with Children’s Miracle Network hospitals to help sick and injured kids in local communities. Donations to Children’s Miracle Network create miracles by funding medical care, research and education that saves and improves the lives of 17 million children each year.

Every child deserves the hope and healing of children’s hospitals. With the help of a Children’s Miracle Network hospital in their community, children of all ages and backgrounds can receive treatment for every imaginable disease and injury—from asthma and broken bones to cancer and heart defects. Children’s hospitals are also on the front lines of research, education and outreach programs that keep millions of kids out of the hospital each year.

This year alone, Children’s Miracle Network hospitals will provide charity care worth billions, yet these children’s hospitals depend on community support to help fund their vital services.

To ensure children’s hospitals have the resources they need, Children’s Miracle Network’s partners conduct thousands of special events and grassroots fundraisers year-round. Corporate partners sell Miracle Balloons, radio and television stations broadcast stories of medical miracles, and college students hold Dance Marathons—just a few of the programs generating millions of dollars each year to provide the life-saving care and crucial services kids need.

Through its continuous efforts to help kids, Children’s Miracle Network has raised more than $3.4 billion to date, most of which is donated a dollar or two at a time by caring individuals.

Children’s Miracle Network has grown dramatically since its founding in 1983, from a televised fundraiser in a small studio to one of the world’s leading children’s charities helping million of kids each year.

3010 - Children’s Medical Research Institute – www.cmri.net

Children's Medical Research Institute strives to improve the health of children through its support of research and education at the Oklahoma Health Center.

Children's Medical Research Institute is the only non-profit organization in Oklahoma whose sole focus is the advancement of pediatric research and education while providing specialized clinical care for Oklahoma's children. Since our inception in 1983, CMRI has raised and leveraged matching funds to create over $79 million to fund pediatric research, quality specialized clinical care and education programs including collaborative projects with the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine and the Children's Hospital at OU MEDICAL CENTER in Oklahoma City.

Our current research and education focus areas include: infectious disease, cancer and blood disorders, cystic fibrosis and lung disease, genetic disorders, diabetes and endocrinology, developmental and behavioral pediatrics, clinical child psychology, trauma and pediatric surgery, kidney disease, gastroenterology, pediatric training, ethics in pediatric medicine, and the care for critically-ill newborns and preemies.

Funding for our programs is made possible through the efforts of a dedicated volunteer board and thousands of community volunteers. Through endowments and direct support, we are able to recruit and retain nationally and internationally recognized pediatric physician-scientists to direct research as well as treat patients and train medical students. All funds raised in Oklahoma stay in Oklahoma to better the lives of our kids here at home.

Children's Medical Research Institute is located in the Presbyterian Health Foundation Research Park at the Oklahoma Health Center and is a proud affiliate of Children's Miracle Network

Areas of Research - Pulmonology -Cystice Fibrosis, asthma
Hematology/Oncology - blood disorder and cancer
Medical Genetics
Endocrinology - Type 1 & 2 diabetes, Growth and growth hormone, intersex, childhood diabetes
Neonatology - Newborn critical care
Clinical Child psychology
Pediatric surgery
Nephrology - kidney diseases
Infectious Diseases
Gastroenterology - digestive disorders

3011 - Shoot For A Cure – www.shootforacure.org

Shoot For A Cure Hockey, established in 2000, is a hockey-focused campaign of the American and Canadian Spinal Research Organizations (registered charities established 1984). It is directly focused on and led by the hockey community.  The Shoot For A Cure campaign seeks to raise funds for spinal cord research, to raise awareness of spinal cord injuries in hockey and to promote prevention of hockey-related spinal cord injuries through the Play it Cool ™ prevention program.  Since the induction of Shoot For A Cure over $2,000,000 dollars have been raised to further research and development for continued commitment of our ultimate goal to find a cure and prevent future injury.

Almost every week during the regular hockey season a player (amateur or professional) suffers a serious spinal injury.  From 1982 – 1996, Canada reported 252 hockey related major spinal cord injuries, followed by Sweden with 54 and the United States with 36.  During that same 15-year period, at least 8 players died and 85 required wheelchairs indefinitely due to spinal injuries sustained while playing hockey. Of note, most of these injuries occurred to the cervical spine of players 16-20 years of age who were playing in supervised games, reinforcing the necessity of targeting the minor hockey community with the message of skilled and respectful play.