FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

July 31, 2007

MEDIA CONTACT:

Michele M. Bjorkman

Hunter’s Hope Foundation

716-667-1200 (office)

716-830-9256 (cell)

 “HUNTER’S HOPE FIFTH ANNUAL CANDLELIGHT BALL WAS A SELL OUT”

Arunas A. Chesonis, CEO of PAETEC Holding Corporation served as Honorary Chair

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Pro NFL Hall of Fame member and former Buffalo Bills quarterback, Jim Kelly and his wife Jill, celebrated a sold out event with 450 guests at the fifth annual Hunter’s Hope Candlelight Ball.  The evening serves as a tribute to life and love for all children while raising funds and awareness to fight leukodystrophies, and advocate for Universal Newborn Screening.  The event was hosted on Friday, July 27 at 7:00 p.m. at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Inn & Conference Center.

Arunas Chesonis, CEO of PAETEC Holding Corporation served as Honorary Chair for the gala event. The Hunter’s Hope Foundation raised over $150,000 to fight Krabbe Disease and other leukodystrophies at this year’s Ball.  The Candlelight Ball has become the premier summer gala in Rochester.  Hosting the event at the RIT Inn & Conference Center is significant in an effort to heighten awareness of Hunter’s Hope in Rochester. “Rochester has always supported Hunter’s Hope and we sincerely appreciate the genuine interest and help we have received from RIT Inn & Conference Center along with Arunas Chesonis and his company, PAETEC,” said Jim Kelly. 

The Semi-Formal Event included a Chef’s Extravaganza of the area’s finest restaurants and wineries. The event also featured a live and silent auction. The evening’s entertainment included The Kid Kurry Band, the Angelicus String Quartet, and the James Heath Quintet. 

Corporate sponsors for the event included R.I.T Inn & Conference Center, the new AT&T, Business Strategies Magazine, City Newspaper, Connors & Ferris LLP, Cook Moving Systems, Entercom Marketing Results Group, Eric Mower and Associates, FREETIME Magazine, Genesee Valley Parent Magazine, GlaxoSmithKline, Golf Week, Hyatt Regency Rochester, The Jewish Ledger, Polisseni Family, DPI Printing of Rochester, Molson Coors Brewing Company & Wright Wisner Distributing, Northeastern Production Systems, Pepsi Bottling Group of Rochester, Service Universal, Starbucks, Summit Federal Credit Union, and Tuxedo Junction.

The Hunter’s Hope Foundation was established in 1997 by Jim Kelly, and his wife, Jill, after their infant son, Hunter was diagnosed with Krabbe Leukodystrophy, an inherited, fatal, nervous system disease.  An objective of the Hunter’s Hope Foundation is that all newborns are tested through the Newborn Screening program for all diseases where early detection and treatment can save the life of the child.  On August 7, 2006, New York State became the first state in the U.S. to launch a Newborn Screening program for Krabbe disease.  This means that every child born n New York will be screened for Krabee within a few days after birth.  If the screen is positive, infants will have the opportunity to be treated with a Cord Blood Transplant, and have the possibility of a long healthy life.

The Foundation is the Kelly’s lifelong commitment to increase public awareness of leukodystrophies as well as to increase the likelihood of early detection and treatment.  The ultimate goal of the Foundation is to fund research efforts to identify new treatments, therapies, and a cure for Krabbe and other leukodystrophies.  Through Hunter’s Hope, over $14 million has been given to leukodystrophy and other neurological disease-related research.

For more information about Hunter’s Hope or the upcoming Buffalo Candlelight Ball scheduled November 9, 2007, visit www.huntershope.org

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