In 2001, a young man by the name of Paul Schmidt experienced his first epileptic seizure. He was 15 years old. He was diagnosed with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy. For six years Paul fought the good fight to lessen or eliminate the seizures, from taking various medications and in 2007 a surgery where a device was implanted into his brain. But these treatments failed. In 2008, Paul died from SUDEP. This is a when a person, otherwise healthy except for their epilepsy, experiences sudden death. Paul was 22 years old.
Why share this tragedy? As a result of stories like Paul’s, parents of children with epilepsy have joined forces with the nonprofit organization, CURE, Citizens United for Research on Epilepsy. CURE is committed to raising both awareness and money for epilepsy research. Paul’s loved ones are doing their part, and you can help.
Paul’s family holds an annual event every autumn called Paul’s Run for Epilepsy, paulsrunforepilepsy.org. This event is a 5K run and wellness fair where 95% of the proceeds go directly to CURE, for research and awareness programs. DirectiveGroup is a sponsor of this event. You can become a sponsor too. The five levels of sponsorship are listed below:
- Diamond Level $2,500: company name and logo prominently displayed on front of participant’s T-shirts, sound system recognition and signs at the event, and special recognition as lead sponsor of the event
- Platinum Level $1,000: company name and logo prominently displayed on back of participant’s T-shirts, sound system recognition and signs at the event
- Gold Level $500: company name and logo displayed in large font on back of participant’s T-shirts, sound system recognition and signs at the event
- Silver Level $250: company name and logo displayed on back of participant’s T-shirts, sound system recognition at the event
- Bronze Level $100: company name and logo displayed on back of participant’s T-shirts.
- In-kind donations of any amount will be recognized at paulsrunforepilepsy.org. Any amount is appreciated.
In addition, sponsors can provide flyers, coupons or samples for goody bags that all attendees take home. This is a great opportunity to advertise your business! Epilepsy not only hurts the quality of the lives of over 3 million Americans, but epilepsy-related deaths occur more than 50,000 a year. With a small contribution, you can make a different in lives of thousands.
