Race to fund epilepsy research when you join Team CURE Epilepsy at the 2021 TCS New York City Marathon! Represent the 3.4 million Americans who are impacted by epilepsy at this iconic race through all 5 boroughs. 

When you join Team CURE, you’ll receive:

• Free race entry ($295 value) 
• Team CURE Epilepsy performance shirt & Run for Research medal 
• Personal fundraising page 
• Regular communications and motivational stories from CURE 
• Private, post-race social event 

For more information, or if you’re interested in running for CURE Epilepsy, please contact Brandon Laughlin at Brandon.Laughlin@cureepilepsy.org or 312-589-5569 

Looking for free training resources? TCS New York City Marathon has you covered! Head to their website and view their running resources. 

For more information or if you’re interested in running for CURE Epilepsy, please contact Brandon Laughlin at Brandon.Laughlin@cureepilepsy.org or 312-589-5569 

Ella’s Walk 2021–Sunday, August 29^th
to benefit CURE Epilepsy

Video credit: ABC 7 Chicago Digital Team

Please sponsor a sign, walk with us and/or donate!

Signs: To recognize the 1 in 26 people that will develop epilepsy in their lifetime, we are placing signs every 26 feet along a one-mile route in our neighborhood. These signs are available for sponsorship at $100 each and then get to be customized by YOU! They can have messages of support, encouragement, epilepsy facts, etc.–you get to customize it! Not feeling creative or wish to stay anonymous? We’ll be happy to fill your sponsored sign out with some messages of encouragement for you! Sponsoring a sign includes the walk registration for your family, which includes T-shirts!

Walk registration: A donation of $25 per walker is suggested, and that includes your walk T-shirt to wear that day!

Donate: Can’t attend but still want to help us cure epilepsy? Make a tax-deductible donation!

Details

On Sunday August 29^th, Ella will walk a one-mile route and see all the signs we have posted! We invite you to walk with us, or cheer her on! Please wear your event T-shirt, and we will have refreshments available this year. While we are unsure of what the COVID-19 protocols will be in August, we will be following all CDC guidelines for the event.

Location

The one-mile route will begin at the 500 block of N Catherine Ave in La Grange Park, head North on Catherine to Monroe, head west to Spring, head South on Spring to Woodlawn, back east of Catherine, and finally North on Catherine to the finish!

About Ella’s Mile

Ella, who is the inspiration for this race.

First off, thank you for coming to visit our site! Our 11-year-old daughter Ella has severe epilepsy, and we’re raising money in her honor to help support research in epilepsy. Ella was first diagnosed with epilepsy days after her first birthday. Since that day we have tried approximately 20 different medications, special diets, prolonged hospital stays, surgical consults, second/third/fourth/etc. opinions all in hopes of bringing her seizures under control. Unfortunately, she still has frequent seizures that, when combined with all the medications she takes, have significantly slowed her development. Yet despite the seizures, meds, hospital stays, blood draws,  and therapy appointments, Ella’s indelible spirit remains untouched. She continues to be our driving force, attacking each new challenge with a smile. You can learn more about Ella here.

We hope to see you there!

Unfortunately, epilepsy’s reach extends far beyond just Ella, affecting over 3.4 million Americans, with 200,000 more cases being diagnosed each year. Approximately 50,000 deaths occur from seizures and seizure-related causes in the U.S. each year. CURE Epilepsy is the leading nongovernmental agency fully committed to funding research in epilepsy. CURE Epilepsy funds research grants for young and established investigators around the globe, and we believe these are the people who are going to be able to someday CURE our Ella. Finding a new and novel treatment and changing technology is currently our only hope for Ella to become seizure-free. CURE Epilepsy is constantly at the forefront of the epilepsy research community, and they are also very fiscally responsible with all the contributions they receive. We are proud to be volunteers for CURE Epilepsy, and Blake is also a Board Member for the organization. We are very passionate about this cause and believe CURE Epilepsy is the best agency out there to help us and Ella.

Waiver: In consideration of acceptance of this entry, I waive any and all claims for myself and my heirs against officials and sponsors of Ella’s mile for illness and injury which may result directly from my participation.  I further state that I am in proper physical condition to participate in this event. I also give permission for the use of my name and/or picture in any public account of this event. No refunds will be issued.

CONGRATULATIONS!

WE SURPASSED THE GOAL!

GOAL: $50,000

TOTAL RAISED: $ 84,445

 

• Blake and Shalee Cunneen
• Anonymous
• Debbie and Carl Adams
• Vicki Allen
• Hanan Almiladi
• Silvia Alvarez Clare
• Erin, Rich and Bennett Baranowski
• Sharon Flaim and Bob Behar
• Mary Beth Bell
• Bridgid Bergstrom
• Claire Biebel
• Laurie Blackmon
• Vanessa Blasco
• The Bloom Family
• Stephanie Boggess
• Freebooks BookClub
• Jane Boyce
• Debbie and Tim Braxmeyer
• Michele Buhle
• Nicole and Nicole Buikema
• Amy Carlstead
• Mike Chilvers
• Jennifer Coe
• Lawrence and Joan Connelly
• Sue Cook
• Covey Family
• Cheryl Cooper
• David Cox
• Kate Crook
• Jack Cunneen
• Sean Cunneen
• Claire Cunningham
• Brian Curran
• Kelly Cusack
• Pat and James Cunneen
• Mary Kate Daniher
• Sara and David Decoste
• Melissa Diebold
• Caroline Domagalski
• Eileen Dorchinecz
• Madelyn Dow
• Julie Drainville
• Jillian and Mark Dryfoos
• Jessica Duer
• Erin Dwyer
• Meghan Elwess
• Kathleen Elwood
• Jodi Fadool
• Charlene Fan
• Lauren Fangman
• Izabela Fitts
• Sharon Flaim
• Sara Fletcher
• Bruce and Susan Frazin
• Recia Frenn
• Mary and Gene Gager
• Nicole Blanco Gallen
• Rachel Galloway
• Maha Gardner
• Carrie and Matthew Garman
• Lily Garza
• Mary Ellen Giese
• Sherina T. Girardi
• Susan Goldby
• Nancy Golden
• Laura Griffin
• Nastassia Griffin
• Tarra Grisz
• Heidi Hampton
• Tara Hanson
• Kimberly Hare
• Ann and John Herder
• Alicia Herlihy
• Catherine Hernandez
• Bernadette Hill
• Sharon Horan
• Joseph Hovanes
• Tiffany Howard
• Kathleen Janak
• Marybeth Janak
• Stacie Janak
• Megan Janssen
• Linda Jensen
• Elissa Johnsen
• Shelly Davis Jones
• Sarah Kalis
• Jenny Kaminski
• Ashley J. Kanney
• Patrick Keenan
• Barbara Keller
• Barb Kelly
• Akil Khalfani
• Jackie and John King
• Diane Klein
• Christina Kmiec
• Jennifer Kovacs
• Michele Kowalski
• Lynn Lach
• Julie Lagnese
• Frederick and Nikola Lambert
• Catherine Landman
• Jenny and Brad LaRocque
• Emily Larsen
• Ann Lee
• Colleen Lee
• Hannah and Vivian (Lemonade Stand)
• Wendy Locke
• Krissy Love
• Tim Lovell
• Aileen Lysaught
• Nancy Madden
• Courtney Mahaney
• Ashley Makdad
• Kristine Mangano
• Erin Manning
• Liam Manning
• Sue and John Mardock
• Glory Martinez
• Nicole Marth
• Joanna Mattia
• Lindsay Mcdermott
• Bryan McGill
• Kathy and John McKenna
• Kevin Melvin
• Nancy Melvin
• Lee Merrill
• Bethany Mily
• Heather Minchella
• Michelle A. Mirza
• Ryan Moe
• Kelly and Tom Moran
• Vikki Morris
• Thomas Mulvihill
• Bridgett Murray
• Katherine Musielak
• Lisa Nadle
• Geetu Naik
• Julie Narimatsu
• Elizabeth Newman
• Linda Norby
• John Norton
• Megan Novak
• Dawn Gard OConnell
• Jennifer Ogden
• Jacqueline Paez
• Alex Parker
• The Patton Family
• Monica Pawasarat
• Tara Petersen
• Julie Pinta
• Colleen Pochopien
• Meg Probst
• Erin Raber
• Maureen Rabus
• Kristina Rediehs
• Barbara Riccio
• Jessica Rimkus
• Gina Rinaldi
• Melissa Roberts
• Susan Robinson
• Jennifer Robison
• Jean Rosenzweig
• Roudabush Family
• Sharon Ryan
• Patricia Salum
• Claudette Sanchez
• Adlija Santarelli
• Andrea Schildgen
• Bre Schneider
• Carolina Schoenbeck
• Lauren Schrero and Adam Levy
• Maggie and John Serafini
• Jamie & Katie Sewell
• Colleen Sexton
• Betsy Shea
• Patrick and Bonita Shea
• William Small
• Tiffany Smith
• Samantha Sordyl
• Lindsey Sorensen
• Caitlin Spain
• Megan Styler
• Jon Suttle
• Warren Taranow
• Terry Thompson
• Codi Titus
• Susan Tullis
• Kelly Van Valey
• Lauren Vaupell
• Erika Vazzana
• Christal Virgilio
• Kelly Voie
• Kayla Von Drasek
• Susan C. Waggener
• Joseph and Kate Washburn
• Janelle Watanabe
• Team Nick Watka
• Lynn Watters
• Jennifer Webb
• Lisa Wilson
• Jessica White
• Nicole Wood
• Natalia Velazquez
• Margaret Yesko
• Laura Zuppa

It’s a marathon, not a sprint!

Until we can run together again, join Team CURE Epilepsy for a virtual marathon this spring! Run 26.2 miles over the course of a one-week period for the 1 in 26 Americans living with epilepsy. Join Team CURE Epilepsy Champions of all different fitness levels to help raise funds to find a cure. Epilepsy research is complex and can take a long time to complete. Much like a marathon runner, research must move at a consistent pace until we reach the finish line: a cure for epilepsy.

How do I get started?

• Register using the form below. Your $50 registration fee will cover your Team CURE Epilepsy performance shirt, marathon medal, and will be included as the first donation to epilepsy research on your fundraising page.
• After registration, you will receive a confirmation email with a link our Team CURE Epilepsy main fundraising page, where you start your own personal fundraising page, use the built-in Strava software to track your mileage, post updates and share your results and pictures with other participants.
• Then you’re ready to start your training!

We encourage everyone to post pictures on social media to connect with Team CURE Epilepsy runners around the world using the hashtag #TeamCUREepilepsy. Don’t want to run 26.2 miles? You can still be part of the Team by running a shorter distance, walking, or simply by raising critical research dollars!

CURE Epilepsy Run for Research is supported by:

Looking to challenge yourself and help raise funds for a good cause? We are proud to become a partner with the Bank of America Chicago Marathon and have secured 5 charity spots for runners looking to explore our beautiful hometown neighborhoods, along an iconic 26.2 mile route.

As part of Team CURE Epilepsy, all persons who meet our fundraising requirements will receive:

• Complimentary race entry ($205 value + processing fees)
• Personalized Team CURE Epilepsy online fundraising page
• Access to virtual training program(s)
• Team CURE Epilepsy performance shirt
• Post-race social and cheering fans along the course
• Encouragement through inspirational stories and the latest research discoveries in epilepsy
• Special recognition and prizes for top fundraisers

For more information or to secure your spot with Team CURE Epilepsy, please reach out to Brandon Laughlin, Sr. Manager of Partnerships & Programs, at brandon.laughlin@CUREepilepsy.org.

Every year on the second Monday of February people join together for International Epilepsy Day, to celebrate and highlight the problems faced by people with epilepsy, their families and carers.

Join CURE Epilepsy and the epilepsy community around the globe in raising funds for research and spreading epilepsy awareness on International Epilepsy Day.

Set Up a Facebook Fundraiser

Ask your Facebook friends help you fund a cure for epilepsy. Share why raising funds for epilepsy research is so critical and encourage people to donate! Set up your fundraiser now.

Spread Awareness on Social Media

3.4 million Americans and 65 million people worldwide are affected by epilepsy. One way to show your friends, family, and followers why finding a cure for epilepsy is so urgent is to share these images to your social media, or your own story, and use the hashtag #EpilepsyDay to add your voice to the conversation:

65 million people worldwide currently live with epilepsy

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3 in 10 cases don’t respond to medication

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1 in 26 Americans will develop epilepsy in their lifetime

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3.4 million Americans have epilepsy

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Saddle up for a wonderful day at the stables with Dressage for a Cause, a fundraiser for CURE Epilepsy!

CURE Epilepsy Champion Channing and Majestic Farms are hosting this event as part of the annual Turkey Trot Horse show. Channing had her first seizure days before her very first horse show. Instead of competing, she underwent a CT scan just a few days before her 10th birthday.

Channing’s love of horse riding continued and she was eventually able to compete. After countless anti-seizure medication combinations, her doctors arrived at a cocktail of meds that control the tonic-clonics. But now, 16 years into epilepsy, it’s the side-effects of the meds that can sometimes take days to recover from.

And that’s why Channing is taking her fight into the arena with Dressage for a Cause. Dressage is a true test of horse & rider that has its roots in the military, which is fitting, since Channing is a fierce epilepsy warrior in the arena fighting for a cure!

The goal is to raise $7,500! Donations are always welcome, and we now have sponsorship opportunities available (message TeamChanning or Majestic Farm on Instagram or Facebook to become a sponsor):

Corporate Sponsor Levels

Find a Cure Title  Sponsorship – $1,850 includes Title sponsorship (‘Your Company Name’ presents Dressage for a Cause: a Fundraiser for CURE Epilepsy); 5 of your company banners (supplied by you) prominently displayed in the main show arenas and show grounds entrance; Your company name as official sponsor in all print and advertising; Your company name and logo on all competitor ribbons.

Quality of Life Sponsorship – $750 includes 3 of your company banners (supplied by you) prominently displayed in the main show arenas and show grounds entrance; Your company name and logo in all print and advertising; Your company name and logo on all competitor numbers.

End the Stigma Sponsorship – $250 includes 3 of your company banners (supplied by you) prominently displayed in the main show arenas and show grounds entrance; Your company name and logo in all print and advertising.

Additional Sponsorship Opportunities

Raffle Sponsors – The ‘Raffle Queens’ at last year’s Dressage for a Cause raised over $1,000 for CURE Epilepsy! This year they are ready to raise even more with your donated goods & services

Class Sponsors – There are over 50 different classes (divisions) at the November 7-8 CURE Epilepsy Horse Show. Sponsorships are $25 each on a first come, first served basis.
Want to be a sponsor? Great! Want to add a class to sponsor? No problem! Just message TeamChanning or Majestic Farm on Instagram or Facebook!

Purple Carrot Sponsors  – Last year, riders were given purple schwag bags for their horses that included apples, purple peppermints, and lots of purple carrots! Help us say thank you to the horses again this year, & sponsor purple carrots!!

Jewelry maker Kendra Scott is known for creating jewelry that gives back the causes you care about most – that’s why we’re excited to announce the Kendra Scott + CURE Epilepsy Give Back event! From November 5-6, use the code GIVEBACK-00CA on any online purchase, and CURE Epilepsy will receive 20% of the proceeds. This is an exciting opportunity to find holiday gifts for your loved ones (or yourself!) and help fund critically needed epilepsy research.

Live in the northern suburbs of Chicago? Shop with us!
On Thursday, November 5, from 4-6 pm, members of CURE Epilepsy’s staff will be in-store at Kendra Scott’s Old Orchard Mall location in Skokie, IL. In addition to giving back, you can get amazing jewelry styling, holiday gift help, and more information about the important work CURE Epilepsy does.

Want to share this with your friends and family? Click here to download a digital save-the-date!

Jack Power was just nine months old when he was diagnosed with epilepsy, a fact his parents discovered after he had his first seizure. Four brain surgeries later, the Power family found out that they are out of surgical options and are relying on future advancements in the treatment of epilepsy to allow Jack—and others like him who suffer from epilepsy—to live a seizure-free life.

They are fortunate that, milestone after milestone, Jack continues to beat the odds; however, others are not so fortunate. Everyone with epilepsy deserves a chance. Please join them for PowerUp for CURE Epilepsy, to help give others that chance.

On Saturday, October 24, 2020, join the Power family and others as they come together virtually for some healthy and fun activities for a great cause: funding research to find a cure for epilepsy.

Learn more about this event by visiting their JustGiving page. For more information about hosting your own CURE Epilepsy Champion event, please contact events@CUREepilepsy.org.

Are you struggling to stay active while social distancing? Then join us for ReSearching for a CURE: A Virtual Scavenger Hunt! This fitness program is a fun way to connect with your family and friends while helping to fund research and raise awareness about the need for research funding.

You can sign up to be a part of this virtual globetrotting challenge as an individual or you can build a dream team and tackle this task together. Each person or team should aim to reach 260,000 steps toward our ultimate collective goal of accumulating 26 million steps – traveling a 26,000 mile route – following a virtual world map.

The program starts on July 20 and will run for four weeks.

Participation is simple:

STEP 1: Register as an individual or a team for $26. Upon registration, you will become a CURE Researcher Investigator. When you or your team join the scavenger hunt, you will work together as a part of the larger ReSearching for a CURE team to discover research discoveries our grantees have made in the pursuit of the cures for epilepsy.

STEP 2: Find Supporters. Reach out to your family and friends – encouraging them to participate by joining you and combining efforts, registering individually, and/or helping raise critical funds for epilepsy research by donating to your optional fundraising page.

STEP 3: Prepare to track your progress. Download the Charity Footprints app to track your steps or integrate any fitness tracking device including Fitbit, Garmin, AppleWatch, Google Fit, Misfit, or Strava. If you prefer not to use a fitness tracker, you can log your workouts manually. Here are a few examples:

STEP 4: Start Researching (i.e. moving) Any physical activity of your choice will earn you steps, from walking around the block to biking your local trails! Each individual or team of CURE Research Investigators will perform their activity to accumulate 260,000 steps over a four-week period. Your search will begin on July 20th at CURE’s home in Chicago. As you accumulate steps, you will circle the globe, uncovering six CURE-funded research projects. At each location, you will receive a stamp in your Passport Book, along with information on the impact of this research.

STEP 5: Celebrate your findings! Pat yourself on the back – you just traveled the world from the comfort of your hometown! However, the scavenger hunt is not over until we hit the collective goal of 26 million steps.

Register and become part of the team today!

Race Times

Submit Your Finishing Time

Original Event Info

No matter where you are, CURE Champion Megan Cullen is challenging you to Go the Distance for CURE! Run or walk in this virtual race to raise critically-needed funds for epilepsy research while spreading positivity and awareness.

Racers who sign up by Wednesday, 5/13 will receive an exclusive virtual race t-shirt. After the race, submit your time using the form below!

Why Megan Organized this Virtual Race

Megan had a regular childhood including playing with friends, working hard at school, and bossing her little brothers around. She was always organized and a type A personality. That is why it was a surprise in her senior year of high school that she totally lost control of her body. She started having what she and her parents not so affectionately called “the shakes.” It always happened in the morning. She would drop or even throw something she was holding, her leg muscles sometimes buckled, and she would let out what sounded like a loud gasping hiccup. She had always relied heavily on a good night’s sleep and figured this was her body’s way of warning her she had not slept enough.

Megan and her parents addressed this with her pediatrician, who quickly sent her for a neurology consult. The neurologist took her history, sent her for an EEG and concluded that she fit all the criteria for Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy with the exception of never having had a seizure. He defined her “shakes” as myoclonus and said they were triggered by lack of sleep.

Epilepsy and seizures were both scary and unfamiliar terms to Megan and her family. Megan continued on, unsure of the impact of this mystery. Until that third week of college, when she was struggling to get her hair into a ponytail and the next thing she could remember, she was surrounded by roommates and EMS from her college.  That was it, she officially had epilepsy. She was nervous and scared as were her parents (200 miles away.) They worked with her neurologist to get her medication and luckily she had so many forms of support, she was bound to get through this.

College proved to be a difficult time. Given that her seizures were triggered by lack of sleep and some students were not always respectful of quiet hours, she did have many more seizures throughout those years. Her neurologist helped her to find a better medication and years later found a perfect one for her. Now, Megan’s epilepsy has been successfully controlled. She came through it thanks to love, support, medication and luck!

Unfortunately, there are many people with epilepsy who never find that perfect medication. There are people who get injured during a seizure or who may not even survive their condition. CURE is here to research solutions for them. CURE is keeping hope alive for those who struggle day in and day out.