Lucky Duck Foundation Donates $30K to San Diego-based Organizations, Challenged Athletes Foundation and Helen Woodward Animal Center

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Lucky Duck Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to raising awareness and funds for charitable causes, announced today that the Foundation has added two San Diego-based organizations to its beneficiaries list, the Challenged Athletes Foundation and the Helen Woodward Animal Center, donating a total of $30,000 to the organizations. Since its founding in 2005 by Pat and Stephanie Kilkenny, the Lucky Duck Foundation has donated more than $2 million to local and national charitable organizations.

"The Lucky Duck Foundation aims to raise awareness and funds for charitable causes, promoting volunteerism, and improving our communities through the leadership and actions of its volunteers," said Stephanie Kilkenny, Chief Executive Officer of the Lucky Duck Foundation. "We are honored to add the Challenged Athletes Foundation and Helen Woodward Animal Center to our existing list of beneficiaries, which include Father Joe's Villages and the Fanconi Anemia Research Fund."

"I am proud to support Pat and Stephanie Kilkenny's Lucky Duck Foundation as we look forward to raising additional funds at the Lucky Duck Foundation's 3rd Annual Swing & Soiree event this year on October 24," said Bill Walton, NBA Hall of Famer, who will be at the Swing & Soiree event. "The Lucky Duck Foundation supports organizations that are dear to my heart, such as the Challenged Athletes Foundation, and I am proud to be involved as each beneficiary is committed to changing people's lives and giving back to the community."

The Lucky Duck Foundation gifted a $15,000 grant to the Challenged Athletes Foundation, a world leader in creating athletic opportunities for individuals with physical disabilities.

"We are humbled by this incredible gift from the Lucky Duck Foundation that will help us fund our mission to significantly enhance the lives of those with physical challenges by providing adaptive sports equipment, coaching, training and competition expenses – items typically not covered by insurance, yet they serve to increase self-esteem, encourage independence and provide a springboard to success in life," said Virginia Tinley, Executive Director of Challenged Athletes Foundation.

The Lucky Duck Foundation also awarded a $15,000 grant to the Helen Woodward Animal Center to help with the Center's Pet Encounter Therapy (P.E.T.) program.

"The Pet Encounter Therapy initiative is a critical program that provides those children and adults confined to institutional settings with the unconditional love of animals during the most difficult time in their lives," said Renee Resko, Helen Woodward Animal Center Vice President of Development. "We are honored to be selected by the Lucky Duck Foundation for this grant support."

A majority of the funds donated by the Lucky Duck Foundation are raised every year through its annual Swing & Soiree event. The 3rd Annual Swing and Soiree event will be held on October 24, 2011 at the Santaluz Club in San Diego. The yearly golf tournament will start at 12pm, followed by a reception at 5pm which will include live and silent auctions, paddle raises, music, speeches from the beneficiaries, and participants will receive gifts from Nike and Columbia Sportswear. To register for the event, please visit http://www.luckyduckfoundation.org/2011-swing-soiree/swing-soiree-registration-form/

About Challenged Athletes Foundation
The Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) is a world leader in helping individuals with physical challenges get involved – and stay involved – in sports. CAF believes that participation in sports at any level increases self-esteem, encourages independence and enhances quality of life. Since 1994, more than $30 million has been raised and almost 5,000 funding requests from challenged athletes in all 50 states and dozens of countries have been satisfied. Additionally, CAF's outreach efforts reach another 60,000 individuals each year. Whether it's a $2,500 grant for a handcycle, helping underwrite a carbon fiber running foot not covered by insurance, or arranging enthusiastic encouragement from a mentor who has triumphed over a similar challenge, CAF's mission is clear: give those with the desire to live active, athletic lifestyles every opportunity to compete in the sports they love. To learn more, log on to www.challengedathletes.org.

About Helen Woodward Animal Center
Helen Woodward Animal Center is a private, non-profit organization where "people help animals and animals help people." Founded in 1972 in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., the Center provides services for more than 57,000 people and thousands of animals annually through adoptions, educational and therapeutic programs both onsite and throughout the community. Helen Woodward Animal Center is also the creator of the international Home 4 the Holidays pet adoption drive and the Animal Center Education Services program, teaching the business of saving lives to animal welfare leaders from around the world. To learn more about Helen Woodward Animal Center and the Pet Encounter Therapy program, visit www.animalcenter.org.

About Father Joe's Villages
Father Joe's Villages is Southern California's largest residential homeless services provider, offering interim, transitional, and permanent housing in San Diego for nearly 1,500 men, women, and children each night. The agency provides 299 units of affordable housing with an additional 65 units slated to open at the end of the year. Father Joe's Villages® helps homeless neighbors in need regain their self-sufficiency through a unique life-changing continuum of services that is nationally recognized and modeled for its effectiveness. For more information visit www.neighbor.org

About Fanconi Anemia Research Fund
The Fanconi Anemia Research Fund, Inc. is a tax-exempt non-profit corporation dedicated to furthering scientific research on Fanconi anemia. Its mission is to find effective treatments and a cure for Fanconi anemia and to provide education and support services to affected families worldwide. To learn more, go to www.fanconi.org

About Lucky Duck Foundation
The Lucky Duck Foundation is a San Diego-based, non-profit organization committed to raising awareness and funds for charitable causes, promoting volunteerism, and improving our communities through the leadership and actions of its volunteers. Pat and Stephanie Kilkenny chose the name "Lucky Duck Foundation" as a nod to Pat's Irish heritage and his Oregon roots.  Through sponsorships and partnerships with local and national companies, the Lucky Duck Foundation's fundraising events continue to grow and draw participants from all around the country. For more information about the Lucky Duck Foundation, go to www.luckyduckfoundation.org.

SOURCE Lucky Duck Foundation