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For the Epilepsy Foundation of Minnesota and others, Jerry Kill’s case has become a hard-to-pass-up opportunity.
The University of Minnesota football coach spoke at the foundation’s annual galas the past two years — before his latest well-documented seizures — and they sold out for the first time. The charity, which had $1.38 million in revenues last year, has seen an increase in donations this year.
On Saturday, the charity will help sponsor a second annual epilepsy awareness event at the university’s home game against Nebraska in another sign that Kill’s condition has become important to both charities and for-profit companies with ties to the world of epilepsy.
The New Jersey-based Anita Kaufmann Foundation, named after an East Coast lawyer with epilepsy who died a decade ago, is also playing a key role in the planning for Saturday’s game in Minnesota. “Anytime we see we have someone [like Kill] who can help us, we just grab them because we need everyone” to help promote epilepsy awareness, said Debra Josephs, the foundation’s executive director.
The pharmaceutical company Eisai, based in Japan, is also helping out at Saturday’s “Go-pher Epilepsy Awareness Game,” and will have its corporate logo — along with the University of Minnesota’s logo — on 50,000 rally towels to be given to fans. The company already markets one epilepsy drug, Banzel, and has recently won federal approval for another seizure drug, Fycompa.
“We’re not marketing anything” during the game, said Eisai spokeswoman Laurie Landau, who stressed the company’s focus would be on epilepsy awareness. “[But] sponsoring a football game is somewhat unusual for us.” Eisai also will have people in action-hero costumes at the game to distribute comic books explaining details of epilepsy..
http://www.startribune.com/local/229340171.html
The University of Minnesota football coach spoke at the foundation’s annual galas the past two years — before his latest well-documented seizures — and they sold out for the first time. The charity, which had $1.38 million in revenues last year, has seen an increase in donations this year.
On Saturday, the charity will help sponsor a second annual epilepsy awareness event at the university’s home game against Nebraska in another sign that Kill’s condition has become important to both charities and for-profit companies with ties to the world of epilepsy.
The New Jersey-based Anita Kaufmann Foundation, named after an East Coast lawyer with epilepsy who died a decade ago, is also playing a key role in the planning for Saturday’s game in Minnesota. “Anytime we see we have someone [like Kill] who can help us, we just grab them because we need everyone” to help promote epilepsy awareness, said Debra Josephs, the foundation’s executive director.
The pharmaceutical company Eisai, based in Japan, is also helping out at Saturday’s “Go-pher Epilepsy Awareness Game,” and will have its corporate logo — along with the University of Minnesota’s logo — on 50,000 rally towels to be given to fans. The company already markets one epilepsy drug, Banzel, and has recently won federal approval for another seizure drug, Fycompa.
“We’re not marketing anything” during the game, said Eisai spokeswoman Laurie Landau, who stressed the company’s focus would be on epilepsy awareness. “[But] sponsoring a football game is somewhat unusual for us.” Eisai also will have people in action-hero costumes at the game to distribute comic books explaining details of epilepsy..
http://www.startribune.com/local/229340171.html