CRAIG HOSPITAL

Englewood

News: ”In a year like no other, we’re going to host PUSH like never before.” So says the invitation to the 20th anniversary edition of Craig Hospital’s fundraising gala. The June 26 event “will be streaming to your device, live from Craig. As always, we will bring you inspiration, a great auction and opportunities to get involved more deeply.”

The virtual format will enable Craig supporters from around the country — and even the world — to take part without having to travel to Colorado for what in pre-pandemic times had been a dinner that brought as many as 1,300 guests to the Hyatt Regency Convention Center and raised upward of $1 million.

There is no charge to view the event, but sponsorships and VIP packages are available at various price points, with proceeds used to fund Craig’s world-renown programs for those recovering from spinal cord and brain injuries. They include therapeutic recreation, adaptive technology, music therapy, community reintegration and education program — things not typically covered by insurance.

PUSH funds also support research, including ongoing studies and clinical trials aimed at improving outcomes, reducing long-term complications and enhancing the quality of life for those affected by spinal cord and traumatic brain injury.

A paddle-raise also will be part of the gala, and will benefit the Craig Foundation’s Patient Assistance Fund. It helps patients with minimal income or inadequate insurance travel to and from Craig, purchase equipment like wheelchairs and shower chairs, remodel homes for accessibility, train caregivers, pay mortgages and rent, and meet other urgent needs.

Real estate entrepreneur Peter Kudla is chairing PUSH 2021; the Peter A. Kudla Family is the presenting sponsor.

In 1984, Kudla formed Beacon Hill Investments, Inc. Ten years later he started Metropolitan Homes, Inc., both of which specialize in multi-family lifestyle housing. Vallagio at Inverness, one of Metropolitan Homes’ transit-oriented developments, was named Neighborhood of the Year by the Denver Regional Council of Governments.

Kudla’s philanthropic ventures include leadership roles in the Children’s Hospital Colorado Tiny Miracles campaign and the Global Down Syndrome Foundation’s Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show. In 2003 he was named Humanitarian of the Year by the University of Denver’s Korbel School of International Studies.

The PUSH Gala was founded by commercial Realtor Art Seiden and his wife, Julie, as a means of thanking Craig Hospital for the compassionate care she received after becoming paralyzed in a horse jumping accident in 1996. Julie had spent 120 days at Craig prior to her passing in 2006.

The first “Push for the Cure” supported the Craig Center for Spinal Cord Injury Research and the Karolinska Institute in Sweden. Over the years, the event’s focus has expanded to meet other needs of the hospital and patients and has raised more than $19 million.

Guests may register in advance by calling Becky Plunkett, 303-789-8166 or by clicking here.

About the organization: Craig Hospital is located at 3425 S. Clarkson St. in Englewood, and is a nonprofit, free-standing center of excellence that has treated 34,500 people with spinal cord and/or brain injuries since its founding in 1956. It has been among U.S. News & World Report’s Top 10 for rehabilitation centers every year since 1990 and in 2020 was voted the No. 1 rehabilitation hospital by the American Nurses Association.

Website: craighospital.org

Have news or announcements for the Nonprofit Register? Email nonprofits@coloradopolitics.com and include a contact name and numbere if more information is needed.