Annual American Kidney Fund Gala Celebrates Patient Hopes And Aspirations As They 'Imagine The Possibilities' For The Future

ROCKVILLE, Md., Oct. 2, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Kidney Fund (AKF) will host its ninth annual gala, The Hope Affair, on Wednesday, Oct. 4, at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in the nation's capital. The event, themed "Imagine the Possibilities," will celebrate inspirational individuals whose lives have been impacted by kidney disease.

Bringing together members of the kidney care community, patients, advocates, and policymakers, The Hope Affair will be emceed by Emmy Award-winning FOX 5 news anchor Shawn Yancy and will honor:

• Luis Matos, the 2017 American Kidney Fund Hero of Hope, a dialysis patient from Ozone Park, New York who formed a football team in Newark, New Jersey, to give young inner-city men a positive outlet.
• Skyler Moats, the 2017 American Kidney Fund Calendar Cover Artist, an Elkins, West Virginia teenager living with kidney disease whose artwork was selected to appear on the cover of AKF's 2018 calendar.
• Justin Condon, the 2017 American Kidney Fund KIDNEYNATION Excellence Award winner from Hoboken, New Jersey, who climbed Mt. Everest to honor his father who died of kidney disease and raised over $25,000 to support AKF programs and services in his memory.

U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) will address the audience in appreciation of AKF's longstanding support of kidney patients in Greater Houston and its recent rapid-response efforts to provide emergency grants to dialysis patients whose lives were devastated by Hurricane Harvey's massive floods. AKF has provided over $230,000 in emergency assistance to nearly 1,000 Texas dialysis patients, primarily in Greater Houston.

"The Hope Affair is an opportunity to bring the renal community together to celebrate those who are changing lives through their selfless and compassionate work," said LaVarne A. Burton, president and chief executive officer of the American Kidney Fund. "We are grateful to the sponsors whose support funds our education, prevention and financial assistance efforts, and especially mindful this year of the great need to assist so many dialysis patients who are suffering in the United States and U.S. territories in areas devastated by hurricanes."

The Hope Affair 2017 is made possible thanks to generous support from silver sponsors American Renal Associates, Satellite Healthcare and Sanofi Renal. Support was also provided by bronze sponsors Dialysis Clinic, Inc., Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Right Advisory LLC and Ropes & Gray LLP. A full sponsor listing can be found at www.TheHopeAffair.org.

About the American Kidney Fund
As the nation's leading nonprofit working on behalf of the 30 million Americans with kidney disease, the American Kidney Fund is dedicated to ensuring that every kidney patient has access to health care, and that every person at risk for kidney disease is empowered to prevent it. AKF provides a complete spectrum of programs and services: prevention outreach, top-rated health educational resources, and direct financial assistance enabling 1 in 5 U.S. dialysis patients to access lifesaving medical care, including dialysis and transplantation. AKF holds the highest ratings from the nation's charity watchdog groups, including Charity Navigator, which includes AKF on its "top 10" list of nonprofits with the longest track records of outstanding stewardship of the donated dollar, and GuideStar, which has awarded AKF its Platinum Seal of Transparency.

For more information, please visit KidneyFund.org, or connect with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.   

SOURCE American Kidney Fund