I came across an article tonight and was compelled to write this post. Mary Ann Hennosy was born with cerebral palsy in 1952. Despite Mary's serious motor skill limitations she is quite capable intellectually. She grew up in Charleston, West Virginia with her six brothers and sisters. At the age of 20, Mary's family moved to Saint Petersburg, Florida where the flat terrain made getting around much easier for her. In 1977 Mary met artist Betty Blue who took an interest in Mary. What happened next was quite remarkable. With Betty's encouragement and guidance, she created a system of sandbags and pulleys to steady the movement of Mary's hands. Betty also taught Mary the basics of color mixing and painting technique. Soon after Mary's gift flourished and her paintings began winning blue ribbons at art shows.
Today Mary has a career as an artist and her paintings can be purchased from her site, My Right Hand. Betty used her creativity and innovation to give a life long gift to Mary. This is a shinning example of our mission statement. Well done and all the best to Mary and Betty!
By Jon Thornham
December 16, 2008
December 8, 2008
Painting With Purpose is Business of the Month at Costco
Painting With Purpose was selected as Costco's Business of the Month at the Summerlin location for the month of December. The next time you are in Costco check out our display. You can find us behind the cash registers at 801 S. Pavilion Center Drive Las Vegas, Nevada.
Jon Thornham
Jon Thornham
December 4, 2008
A True Champion, by Painting With Purpose
I heard recently of a man named D.J. Gregory. D.J. is helping raise money for United CP, the same charity we (Painting With Purpose) are raising funds for in Round 1. Please take a minute to watch the video, read the story, visit our store and buy a painting to help us reach our goal of raising $150,000 for cerebral palsy. You might even win $25,000.
D.J. was born with cerebral palsy and was told by doctors he would never walk. D.J.'s plan was different. It seems if you tell D.J. he can't do something, he will find a way and show you that he can. That's what happened this year on the 2008 PGA Tour.
D.J. has had a profound love for golf since childhood. When other sports were not possible for D.J. to partake in, D.J. taught himself to play golf one handed. At 12 his father took him to his first tournament in North Carolina where he met sports announcer Jim Nantz. Jim has been a life long friend and a key factor in this years event.
D.J. creatively came up with a way to be involved with the sport he loves. His idea, walk every hole, of every round, of every tournament in the 2008 PGA Tour, and follow a new golfer each week. His work as a reporter would then be entered on a blog on PGAtour.com. D.J. put together a sample package of his work, which Jim Nantz hand delivered it to the PGA commissioner. Well the commissioner loved the idea and D.J. set out on his journey.
After 45 weeks, 44 tournament, 3256 holes and 988 miles D.J. completed his journey in Orlando. D.J. had his struggles along the way. CP has caused his toes to overlap so the friction from all the walking created blisters. Instead of stopping or hitching a ride in a cart, he put on 8 band-aids a day to ease the pain. None of the golfers on the tour walk every hole. I myself know from personal experience that walking one round of golf can be a challenge. D.J. however never gave up.
D.J.'s journey ties in close to our mission at Painting With Purpose. D.J. came up with a creative way to spread a positive message. I can't speak for what D.J. feels his purpose in life is, but I feel part of it is what he accomplished this year on the PGA Tour. Watching the interviews and reading how D.J. was named person of the week at abcnews.go.com, you quickly learn that the golfers he followed have a greater appreciation for life. Instead of complaining about a certain round of golf, they are grateful to be out playing the game they love. Thank you D.J., I am sure your creativity has effected many more lives than the 44 golfers you followed.
Jon Thonrham
D.J. was born with cerebral palsy and was told by doctors he would never walk. D.J.'s plan was different. It seems if you tell D.J. he can't do something, he will find a way and show you that he can. That's what happened this year on the 2008 PGA Tour.
D.J. has had a profound love for golf since childhood. When other sports were not possible for D.J. to partake in, D.J. taught himself to play golf one handed. At 12 his father took him to his first tournament in North Carolina where he met sports announcer Jim Nantz. Jim has been a life long friend and a key factor in this years event.
D.J. creatively came up with a way to be involved with the sport he loves. His idea, walk every hole, of every round, of every tournament in the 2008 PGA Tour, and follow a new golfer each week. His work as a reporter would then be entered on a blog on PGAtour.com. D.J. put together a sample package of his work, which Jim Nantz hand delivered it to the PGA commissioner. Well the commissioner loved the idea and D.J. set out on his journey.
After 45 weeks, 44 tournament, 3256 holes and 988 miles D.J. completed his journey in Orlando. D.J. had his struggles along the way. CP has caused his toes to overlap so the friction from all the walking created blisters. Instead of stopping or hitching a ride in a cart, he put on 8 band-aids a day to ease the pain. None of the golfers on the tour walk every hole. I myself know from personal experience that walking one round of golf can be a challenge. D.J. however never gave up.
D.J.'s journey ties in close to our mission at Painting With Purpose. D.J. came up with a creative way to spread a positive message. I can't speak for what D.J. feels his purpose in life is, but I feel part of it is what he accomplished this year on the PGA Tour. Watching the interviews and reading how D.J. was named person of the week at abcnews.go.com, you quickly learn that the golfers he followed have a greater appreciation for life. Instead of complaining about a certain round of golf, they are grateful to be out playing the game they love. Thank you D.J., I am sure your creativity has effected many more lives than the 44 golfers you followed.
Jon Thonrham
December 3, 2008
Painting With Purpose, Charity's Saving Grace.
The following is a press released submitted today.
The gloves are off and the bell has rung. The recession is here and it’s delivering blows across the nation. Families, corporations, government and sadly enough, even nonprofit organizations are feeling the effects. Painting With Purpose plans to make a difference by helping the nonprofit organizations fight back.
Founders Chris and Jon Thornham have created Painting With Purpose as an affordable and innovative approach to charity. They also plan to stimulate the economy by awarding cash prizes of up to $1,000,000. Painting With Purpose sells $3 digital copies of paintings created by children with special needs, donates 50% of the gross proceeds to charity, and awards prize money to their customers. Every 1,000th purchase is a winner and the prizes range in value from $5 to $1,000,000.
The digital paintings, similar to the Lance Armstrong bracelet, are a symbol of involvement. Every time a painting is purchased, customers are entered to win and the digital painting is emailed to their inbox. Painting With Purpose encourages their customers to be creative and show their paintings off however they like.
Painting With Purpose has also created a feature called AutoPay. AutoPay makes giving and winning affordable for everyone interested in continued involvement. Starting at $3 per year, customers choose how many digital paintings they would like to purchase, and how often they would like to purchase them. After that, AutoPay automatically emails your paintings to your inbox.
To learn more about Painting With Purpose or to become involved, visit their website at www.paintingwithpurpose.com.
November 30, 2008
Hypothermia Treatment for Cerebral Palsy
One focus of this blog will be to discuss the special needs and disabilities we are raising money for. The goal is to raise awareness of possible treatments, therapies, surgeries etc. In no way do we recommend any of these treatments without first consulting with a doctor. Please feel free to send comments about these discussions.
Today I want to talk about hypothermia treatment, which is a relatively new treatment for cerebral palsy (CP). The treatment window is very limited and research shows it must be initiated within six hours of birth. The cause of CP is still debated, however one of the major contributing factors is hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), or loss of oxygen at birth. HIE is commonly referred to as asphyxia. According to Anne Hansen, MD, MPH, medical director of the NICU, and Janet Soul, MD, CM, associate director of the Neonatal Neurology Program at Children's Hospital Boston, HIE occurs in two stages. The first is before the birth where the brain has a lack of oxygen due to inadequate blood flow, and the second is after birth when there is secondary energy failure. This means that the brain cells are depleted of energy during asphyxia due to a lack of oxygen and glucose. When the brain is injured from asphyxia or trauma the brain will continue to damage itself for a period of time after the injury. This is caused by metabolic processes of the brain. When the newborn is exposed to hypothermia treatment the the brain requires less energy. When there is less energy required for brain function, the brain incurs less damage. Basically if you slow the brain down you prevent it from further damaging itself.
Children's Hospital Boston has performed hypothermia treatment on three newborns who showed signs of asphyxia. The newborns were placed on cooling blankets for 72 hours and then slowly warmed to normal body temperature. Two of the newborns showed normal MRI's after the treatment and the third had a tiny spot on the brain which most likely will have no effect on brain function.
There is some controversy over this treatment but I commend Anne and Janet for their pioneering work in this field. Their new and innovative method shows very positive results in their early trials. Congrats!
For more information and to read the articles I gathered information from, follow these links:
http://www.childrenshospital.org/views/feb08/new_induced_hypothermia.html
http://pub.ucsf.edu/newsservices/releases/200811135/
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/abstract/336/8/540
Jon Thornham
Today I want to talk about hypothermia treatment, which is a relatively new treatment for cerebral palsy (CP). The treatment window is very limited and research shows it must be initiated within six hours of birth. The cause of CP is still debated, however one of the major contributing factors is hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), or loss of oxygen at birth. HIE is commonly referred to as asphyxia. According to Anne Hansen, MD, MPH, medical director of the NICU, and Janet Soul, MD, CM, associate director of the Neonatal Neurology Program at Children's Hospital Boston, HIE occurs in two stages. The first is before the birth where the brain has a lack of oxygen due to inadequate blood flow, and the second is after birth when there is secondary energy failure. This means that the brain cells are depleted of energy during asphyxia due to a lack of oxygen and glucose. When the brain is injured from asphyxia or trauma the brain will continue to damage itself for a period of time after the injury. This is caused by metabolic processes of the brain. When the newborn is exposed to hypothermia treatment the the brain requires less energy. When there is less energy required for brain function, the brain incurs less damage. Basically if you slow the brain down you prevent it from further damaging itself.
Children's Hospital Boston has performed hypothermia treatment on three newborns who showed signs of asphyxia. The newborns were placed on cooling blankets for 72 hours and then slowly warmed to normal body temperature. Two of the newborns showed normal MRI's after the treatment and the third had a tiny spot on the brain which most likely will have no effect on brain function.
There is some controversy over this treatment but I commend Anne and Janet for their pioneering work in this field. Their new and innovative method shows very positive results in their early trials. Congrats!
For more information and to read the articles I gathered information from, follow these links:
http://www.childrenshospital.org/views/feb08/new_induced_hypothermia.html
http://pub.ucsf.edu/newsservices/releases/200811135/
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/abstract/336/8/540
Jon Thornham
November 28, 2008
Painting With Purpose in 2 Minutes
Painting With Purpose is a brand new idea. People have been having a bit of a hard time understanding exactly what it is that we do. To help make things a little clearer we have summed things up in a 2 minute video. Take a minute to watch it. Let us know if you have any questions by writing a comment.
November 23, 2008
Andrew's First 5K Part 2
Left to Right, Dr. Savatgy, Chris, Jon and Andrew
Andrew's first 5K was a smashing success. The weather was great and a big crowd showed up for the race. Andrew had lots to say on race morning, but three things kept coming up over and over again. "This is SO AWESOME!", "This is SO COOL!" and "WHOOOOOOOOOHOOOOO" were definitely his favorite things to say. Take a look at the video below.
Chris Thornham
Andrew's First 5K
November 21, 2008
Painting With Purpose Featured on Philly Burbs Website
A day after launching Painting With Purpose we woke up to a wonderful surprise. When doing a Google search on Painting With Purpose, we noticed a new link pop up. After clicking on the link we were taken to Philly Burbs website. Jen W. wrote a wonderful article about Painting With Purpose. Please take a minute to check it out. Make sure you "Digg" us or "Yahoo Buzz" us. A big thanks to Philly Burbs!Here is the link to the article http://guides.phillyburbs.com/index.php?p=36316&cat=5
Chris Thornham
November 18, 2008
Andrew's First 5K
The other day while visiting Andrew and his family, I mentioned that Jon and I were running an upcoming 5K named "The Turkey Trot". For those of you who aren't sure what a 5K is, it's a 5 kilometer or 3.1 mile running race.I asked Andrew if he would like to run the 5K. His response was "Chrisy, I can't". Yes, Andrew has nicknamed me Chrisy. I know I know, but it's cute when he says it. Anyway, back to the point. After hearing Andrew say he couldn't run the 5K, I really started thinking. He might not be able to "run" the 5K, but with a little help he would be able to complete it. I asked Andrew if he would like a free ride in his wheel chair. The smile on his face said it all. So this weekend Andrew and I will be completing his first 5K together.
Jon (aka the running camera man) will be sprinting back and forth to capture the event. Be sure to check back next week for a race recap and to watch a video of the event.
Chris Thornham
Painting With Purpose Officially Launches
Painting With Purpose is pleased to announce the launch of our site. For the past 18 months we have been working away to offer a new and innovative approach to philanthropy called, Win Win Win Philanthropy. Please visit our site to help Andrew and Painting With Purpose achieve our first goal of raising $150,000 for cerebral palsy, and you could win up to $25,000. You can also visit our MySpace, FaceBook and YouTube pages. Below are two of Andrew's videos for you to watch. The first video is all about Andrew, and in the second video, Andrew talks all about his favorite celebrity Whoopi Goldberg. For all of Andrew's videos, or to learn about our other Painting With Purpose Kids, please visit our Meet the Kids page.
About Andrew
Andrew and Whoopi Goldberg
About Andrew
Andrew and Whoopi Goldberg
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