More than 350 guests at Hoops & Hoopla on April 2 raise more than $120,000 for chronically ill children

Guests at Hoops & Hoopla presented by Greiner Electric raised more than $120,000 to benefit the free, unique Kunsberg School for chronically ill students while they viewed the college men’s basketball semifinal championship games with 350 Kunsberg supporters on April 2 at INVESCO Field at Mile High.  The high-energy annual event featured the two games on a giant video wall, the Jumbotron on the field and more than 35 TVs.  Between the games, a fabulous buffet was served and guests, some of whom wore the colors of their alma maters, listened to a brief program and watched a video showcasing a few of the many patients seen at National Jewish Health. Team Greiner, headed by co-chair (Coach) David Greiner and committee members (Players) Matt Arias, Brent Greiner, Jeff Shigeno, Tom Tarver and Kris Wintroub was applauded for raising more than $40,000 at this year’s event.

Hoops & Hoopla guests also enjoyed sports-themed games, delicious hors d’oeuvres, an open bar and a silent auction featuring a wide variety of items including a trip to Estrella del Mar, Mexico, and a fly-fishing trip to Ladder Ranch in the Little Snake River Valley. 

In addition to David Greiner, co-chairs included Dave Dahl and Jason Green, QED; Kevin Eitniear, Tower Electric; Amy Hines and Natalie Neaton, Delphi Companies; John Kamprath, Krische Construction; Jerry Laflen, BKD LLP; Ward Mahanke, TST Inc. of Denver; and Rich Schierburg, Peregrine Group Development.

Kunsberg School at National Jewish Health is a free day school for about 90 chronically ill students in kindergarten through eighth grades. Its mission is to provide a safe, friendly and healthy school environment where students succeed academically, medically and socially. Many students are minorities, and most families are at or below poverty level. Typically, they have fallen behind their peers in school because of illnesses including severe asthma and/or allergies, sickle cell anemia, diabetes, HIV/AIDS and other respiratory and related disorders. Kunsberg students receive care and learn to manage their illnesses from three nurses and National Jewish Health pediatricians. They eat nutritious meals, exercise daily, and practice positive social interaction. The students learn in small classes from teachers with advanced degrees using the latest educational technology tools; they demonstrate their knowledge by showing steady improvements on the CSAP test and outpacing their peers in similar schools. Upon graduation, Kunsberg students have the skills to lead healthy, productive, meaningful and active lives.

National Jewish Health is known worldwide for treatment of patients with respiratory, cardiac, immune and related disorders, and for groundbreaking medical research. Founded in 1899 as a nonprofit hospital, National Jewish Health remains the only facility in the world dedicated exclusively to these disorders. Since 1998, U.S. News & World Report has ranked National Jewish Health the #1 respiratory hospital in the nation.