BLAINE, Minn. – (April 26, 2018) – An annual fundraiser held in Blaine is aiming to raise $100,000 for Lupus research. A local non-profit called the Lupus Research Foundation holds a curling tournament every May that brings in some of the top curlers in the world to help raise money for a cure.
Lupus is an autoimmune disease that about 1.5 million Americans have. It is a chronic condition that can damage someone’s skin, joints, or organs. A lengthy personal struggle with the disease led a Blaine woman to work for change.
“It’s been a dream of mine to try and reach out other people with Lupus…and that is how the Lupus Research Foundation came about,” said Lupus Research Foundation founder Regan Birr.
The Lupus Research Foundation is funding research at the Mayo Clinic, and at New York University’s Colton Center for Autoimmunity. Their biggest annual fundraiser each year is a curling tournament called Lupus Spiel USA.
“I grew up in curling in Canada. I’ve been friends with a bunch of competitive curlers…who have been kind enough to donate their time to the Lupus Spiel,” said Birr.
It’s taken off so much, it’s becoming the biggest event of its kind.
“We’ve grown to 36 teams this year so that puts Lupus Spiel USA as the largest curling pro-am in North America,” said Birr.
Interest in curling has been growing locally since the Four Seasons Curling Club opened at Fogerty Arena.
“People around the community don’t think of curling anymore as a niche sport,” said Birr.
As the sport and the bonspiel have grown, the City Council of Blaine has recognized May 4-6, 2018 as Lupus Spiel USA Weekend in Blaine. Along with this growth comes lofty fundraising goals.
“With the Lupus Spiel this year we think we are going to generate approximately $100,000 from that event,” said Birr.
