Butterfly Run

NEW this year!  You can sign up as a runner, walker, virtual butterfly or part of the cheering team!  Something for everyone!  Out of town?  Sign up to participate virtually and receive a t shirt!  Running or walking not your thing?  Sign up to cheer on the participants and receive a t shirt!  

Interested in sponsoring?   As a sponsor, you have the opportunity to help find a cure for this terrible disease and also to help the lives of young people in the Big Brothers/Big Sisters organization.    As a corporate partner of The Butterfly Run, you will align your business with other well-respected companies that promote social responsibility and will make a direct investment in improving the outcomes of people diagnosed with sarcoma cancer in the Charlotte region.  Please contact Laura Engel at [email protected] for more information.

USATF/RRTC CERTIFIED COURSE!!! (Certification Code NC 18005BW)

Help us fund sarcoma research at the Levine Cancer Institute in Charlotte, NC and expand hope for sarcoma cures.  Funds will also help families defray expenses as their loved one battles this devastating disease.  This 5k run/walk is to celebrate the memory of Lauren Marie Kimsey.  A small portion of the funds will also benefit  Big Day at The Lake (an event of Big Brothers/Big Sisters), one of Laurens favorite charities. The race will start with a release of 400 live butterflies.  We hope that you will bring your entire family out for this event which will also feature live music and vendors!  To learn more about the cause, see below.

The Levine Cancer Institute

There are a number of high-profile cancer centers around the country that devote some portion of their financial and personnel resources to investigating and treating sarcoma.  In fact, the Levine Cancer Institute, right in our own backyard,  is one of them!   Then Levine Cancer Institute opened its doors in Charlotte in 2012. We were impressed with their commitment to outstanding patient care and their laser focus on successfully treating cancers, including rare and complex ones like sarcoma, right in the community in which patients live.  This is critical for sarcoma sufferers, who oftentimes have to travel great distances to access cutting-edge treatment options and knowledgeable physicians.  This year we will directly support their sarcoma research program with a majority of the funds generated through the Butterfly Run.

Big Day at The Lake

Every year, hundreds of children in the program enjoy a memory-making day of fun on Lake Norman. Volunteer "boat hosts" share their love of boating with the Bigs and Littles. Together, they spend the morning exploring and enjoying the lake. The day concludes with a picnic and fun activities for more than 600 participants at Duke Energy’s Explorium Huntersville.  The ultimate goal of Big Day at the Lake is to provide a fun day on the lake for at-risk children,  recruit Bigs, and raise money for a worthy organization -  Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Greater Charlotte.

 

The Lauren Marie Kimsey Foundation for Synovial Sarcoma, Inc.

After a fight like no other, Lauren Kimsey lost her fight  against this terrible disease on September 10, 2016….just months shy of her 40th birthday.  Lauren’s fight began six years ago, when a small lump appeared on her arm.  The initial diagnosis was a pulled muscle from exercise – as Lauren was very physically active, fit and the picture of health.  After months of physical therapy with no relief, it was discovered that Lauren had synovial sarcoma – a rare soft tissue cancer with no known cure.  The exact underlying cause of synovial sarcoma is poorly understood and it is the families wish to help find the cause and cure.   In memory of Lauren, the “Lauren Marie Kimsey Foundation for Synovial Sarcoma, Inc.”  was formed.