May 23, 2024
How to Eat an Elephant?
Quinn Brett
A few months ago, we kicked off a campaign to add 40 new monthly donors to our list of supporters. As the new development director, I wanted to lead by example, so I became the first new monthly donor of this new effort. I haven’t been alone - six new monthly donors have since joined us, helping to fuel the journey toward curative therapies for spinal cord injury.
My goal at U2FP, has been to amplify a few messages— one specifically being the stigma around the word “cure.” The goal of the cure might seem far-fetched, impossible, “five-years, five years!” they say. It’s the elephant in the room. How do we eat an elephant, I say? One functional recovery step at a time!!! In order to cure paralysis we need to make tangible gains in understanding all the smaller systems that are affected by the overarching central nervous system damage— from grasping to nerve pain and sensation to spasticity. I have written about this not only in our newsletters, blogs and social media posts but also tried to clarify it in my conversations with our donor base.
Every week, I make it a goal to reach out to a handful of our U2FP’s donors - especially our monthly donors - to hear your stories, find out why you support us and learn who you are on a personal level. As I mentioned previously, Matthew took the time and made space for me in my early SCI days and that had a huge impact on the belief that my voice could make a difference. I want to continue that collaborative, grass-roots effort that U2FP is known for - namely, listening well so we can act effectively.
I invite you to jump on board as a monthly donor and I look forward to our first of many conversations! If you are a person who lives with this injury, a clinician, a scientist, family member or a friend, I would love to hear from you and learn about your passion for this movement. Personal relationships and connections allow us to bounce ideas off one another, igniting new goals, collaboration and also just providing support for this entire community as we take on eating this awful stubborn giant elephant, one bite at a time.
2024 Science & Advocacy Symposium Sponsors
