For the second consecutive year, more than 500 skaters turned out for the sixth annual UNMC Skate-a-thon for Parkinson’s. The 24-hour skating event at the UNMC Ice Rink began at noon Friday and concluded at noon Saturday.
The event is held in memory of event founder Colleen Wuebben, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2005 at the age of 52 and died in 2013 at the age of 60.
Jenny Knutson, daughter of Ted and Colleen Wuebben and one of the event coordinators, said early estimates show that more than $15,700 in donations was collected at this year’s skate-a-thon. This included nearly $8,000 collected on site, $2,700 online and a $5,000 donation from the national office of Pacific Life Insurance Company.
She said additional money will be raised through online pledges that have not yet been processed. The six skate-a-thons at UNMC have netted more than $155,000 in proceeds.
Knutson had special praise for the efforts of UNMC personnel involved in the skate-a-thon.
"We are thrilled with the way this event has grown over the past six years," she said. "Moving the skate-a-thon to UNMC was the best thing we ever did.
"Once again, Rink Manager Mike Madison and his staff went above and beyond to run a 24-hour shift from the skate shack. They do so much behind the scenes and represent themselves and the university well. Security did a fabulous job again, and as always, huge compliments for everyone at Sodexo for the amazing cookies and hot drinks they provided."
Proceeds go toward clinical and basic science Parkinson's research at UNMC as well as a foundation started by Colleen Wuebben. The foundation name has now been changed to Parkinson's Nebraska, and its mission is expanding to include affordable exercise, education and services to improve quality of life for persons with Parkinson's.
Three skaters – Chris Rush, Mike Schoch and Knutson – skated all 24 hours. This marked the second consecutive year that Rush has skated all 24 hours. In addition, a Parkinson’s patient, Roger Palmer, showed up for the opening ceremonies and skated an honorary lap around the rink.
Other highlights from the event included:
- Hockey teams from two Omaha high schools — Creighton Prep and Westside — turned out on Saturday morning;
- Members of the University of Nebraska at Omaha chapter for the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association had skaters on the ice for every hour of the event, as did one other group (Team No White Flags); and
- Members of the Figure Skating Club of Omaha participated on Friday night.
UNMC physicians – John Bertoni, M.D., Ph.D., Amy Hellman, M.D., and Howard Gendelman, M.D. – spoke at the opening ceremonies, while Diego Torres, M.D., spoke at the closing ceremonies.
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