Welcome to Bobby Swanson's Team SCIS/u2fp Chicago Marathon Page
Dear Friends and Family,
As most of you know, I had a snowmobile accident over 9 yrs ago that resulted in a Spinal Cord Injury. Since then my life has been enriched with new experiences, activities & relationships despite being confined to a wheelchair. One of those relationships is with my good friend Geoff Kent. We were brought together because both of us are living with an SCI & both played basketball for Coach Bob Ward at different schools. Geoff has been a HUGE help & mentor for me not only with life but also in the sport of Wheelchair Racing. I am running the Chicago Marathon on October 9th to help raise funds for his non-profit organization called SPINAL CORD INJURY SUCKS! In today's tough economy, where every charitable dollar matters, I have chosen to run on behalf of a tremendous cause. This cause is Spinal Cord Injury Sucks (SCIS)/Unite 2 Fight Paralysis (u2fp), two non-profit organizations removing taboos about life with paralysis and raising funds for spinal cord injury research. The Chicago Marathon is the one and ONLY fundraiser that SCIS conducts each year. It has been a tremendous success story—starting with 7 runners in 2008, we have already raised over $600,000 for spinal cord injury research. On October 9th, in the 9th annual SCIS/u2fp Chicago Marathon program, I am one of 14 runners, 5 in wheelchairs, advancing this important cause.
It is an extremely exciting time in the field of spinal cord injury cure research, but the best labs, working on the most promising therapies are still chronically and critically underfunded. For example, in 2013, SCIS raised enough money to cover the annual cost of TWO full-time post-doctoral researchers. Think about that: a few runners running a few miles was enough to finance two PhD-educated scientists working on therapies to cure spinal cord injury for a full year. That is an important, powerful charitable impact, and I strongly encourage you to help out. SCIS/u2fp is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, which means all of your donations on my behalf are tax-deductible. THANK YOU for your support!!!
