On the online card front, we have created a shared scrapbook on Mixbook.com for fans to collaborate on. The card is still in progress and we're looking for messages from fans to fill it out. You have to be a member to edit the book, and be invited by me to be a contributor, but once we've gone through that, you can go in and create a page, choose the background, upload any photos (though be aware that Mixbook claims some degree of rights to anything on their site so don't upload anything that isn't your own), and write your message.
One small tip if you do sign up to collaborate - one way to add a message is to use a photo program to format your text, save as a jpg, and then upload the photo to Mixbook. You can then use one of the photo layouts to place your message, since Mixbook is designed a bit more for photo layouts than text layouts.
If you don't want to sign up for Mixbook but still want to contribute a message (which can be as short as "Happy 20th anniversary of the quad, Kurt!" or a full-out note), then you can email me your message and I'll add it to the card for you.
The card should be publicly viewable here, for the curious. Once you've signed up for mixbook, go to the book and request to be added, and I will invite you as a collaborator as soon as I get the request.
For the 10th anniversary of the quad, the Kurt Klub organized a presentation of a bottle of 10-year-old Hungarian wine to Kurt on a talk show. In lieu of finding something equally creative or pitching in to buy a present Kurt may not have use for, it was decided that for the 20th anniversary, it would mean a lot for Kurt's fans to group together to make a donation to a charity with meaning for Kurt, in honor of his quad anniversary and to thank him for his contributions to the sport. The charity was chosen by the fans on the Kurt List, and the group donation, once collected, will be a surprise contribution on his behalf.
Cancer is an issue that has touched most of our lives, and has definitely had an impact on Kurt's life. His father is a 3-time survivor and, as of last fall, is
currently fighting cancer, while his mother passed away from cancer in
2000. In the fall of 2007, Kurt skated in the "Frosted Pink" show,
promoting cancer survivorship and education, because the issue was
close to his heart. Also in the fall of 2007, Kurt was one of 12
athletes to sign
the Terry Fox shoes which were auctioned on ebay to raise money
for the Terry Fox Foundation. For these reasons, we have chosen to
direct our donations to the Terry
Fox Foundation.
The Terry Fox Foundation
is dedicated to cancer research in Canada, and one of the two primary source of funds for the National Cancer Institute of Canada, Canada's premier cancer research organization. The Terry Fox website states upfront exactly
how each donation dollar is spent - 87% goes directly to the NCIC, 10%
to fundraising, and 3% to administration.
The Terry Fox Foundation has an online donation form that makes group donations or donations "in honor of" someone straightforward, and can handle international donations, all of which makes it attractive as the target for donations by Kurt fans all over the world. For more information on the foundation, visit their website.
Our donation group for the Terry Fox Foundation is "Kurt Browning's Quad - 20th Anniversary." You can donate directly to the group via the online donation form linked here. In this way, we can keep track of the total donations made for this occasion, and present Kurt with a total on the quad anniversary. They accept Visa and Mastercard, and will send you a tax receipt. If you have any questions, email me.
We have a very small window in which to make the donations before the quad anniversary, so please help to spread the word!
For both the card and the donation, we're obviously hoping to keep Kurt in the dark until the anniversary of the quad, but he will then be told about both the card and the charitable donation that had been made on his behalf.
I hope all of Kurt's fans can join together in signing this card and making whatever contribution they can, in the short two weeks we have! I'm setting a cut-off deadline of March 23 for both the card signing and the charity donations. Please help spread the word, and I hope you can contribute!
