Hawkeyes To Volunteer And Perform Exhibition

Sept. 12, 2006

IOWA CITY – The University of Iowa men’s and women’s gymnastics teams will be volunteering at the Eighth Annual Chili Dog Fair Sunday, September 24. In addition, they will be performing an exhibition. The event will be held at the Johnson County 4-H Fairgrounds from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Last year more than 3,000 people enjoyed the live entertainment, children’s events, dog demonstrations and a chili cook-off. Chili cooks from the Iowa City area will volunteer their chili and time to raise money for children with MPGN 2.

The Chili Dog Fair is a benefit for Kidneeds, a medical research foundation created in 1997 by a local family because no research was being done on the kidney disease, MPGN 2. MPGN 2 is an auto-immune, life-threatening kidney disease that dramatically affects the daily lives of numerous people. Usually, young people get the disease, and within 5-10 years of diagnosis, 80% require dialysis to live. The disease recurs in transplanted kidneys, which means that most affected will be on dialysis their entire life.

Kidneeds has become the leading funding source for MPGN 2 research in the world. Kidneeds is a not-for-profit corporation with 501(c)(3) status. 100% of all funds raised goes to research. Unlike many other organizations, no fund-raising or administrative costs are taken from the funds. The entire amount supports the cause.