Where your money goes!

Arthritis is America's leading cause of disability, impacting more than 50,000,000 people, including 300,000 children.  Arthritis costs our economy more than $128 billion each year!  Over the past 15 years, the tournament has raised over $3.2 million which has helped fund breakthrough research, critical community initiatives, and patient-focused advocacy.

 Research
• Dollars raised from our local events supported $850,000 in research projects at prominent universities throughout the region

Advocacy
• Develop an increasing number of advocates and ambassadors (super advocates) to advocate for individuals with arthritis and it’s related diseases. The Region has a least one ambassador in every congressional districts within our region. Our ambassadors and advocates have been an integral part of our pursuing heath care related policy issues both at the Federal and State levels.
• Advocacy Summit Stipends:  Each year the Region invests in its advocates in providing stipends to attend the annual Advocacy Summit. We try and maximize our dollars to send deserving individuals to our nation’s capital to advocate on behalf of themselves and the other millions of citizens living with arthritis.

Kids Rheum
• Our network of children’s events and social support grew to 20 Kids Rheum family fun and education events, more than double the previous year.
• The region sponsored 19 families to attend the National Juvenile Arthritis Conference in St. Louis, MO.

Community Partnerships
• The region launched a Digital Speaker Series, dozens of video vignettes, featuring local health care professionals.
• The region has hosted more than 70 public education events reaching more than 1000 participants.
• Health Expos for Better Living were hosted in every state of the region.
• More than 8,000 participants at 771 sites participate in the Arthritis Foundation’s Programs for Better Living exercise programs.
• We teamed up with the American Diabetes Association to promote physical activity in faith-based communities

As you can see, all of the Participants, Donors, Sponsors, and Volunteers have a lot to be proud of!