June 19, 2026

What Our 2nd Annual Gala Accomplished

Quinn Brett


Well, time has just flown by!! It has been two months since we held our 2nd Annual Gala and Silent Auction at the Bird’s Nest Cafe in Estes Park, Colorado. Planning and executing this auction apparently required a longer recovery time than my initial hospital stay following my spinal cord injury. 

We had over 60 attendees in-person at the event and just as many joined the auction from the comforts of their home across the globe. We had hand-crafted lamps, oil paintings, ceramics and welded art, original pieces from all over the world, including many artist contributions from within the spinal cord injury community. All said and told, we were very close to reaching our $30,000 goal - we raised nearly $27,000!  

Our keynote speaker, Cedar Wright, (professional climber, filmmaker, and all-around human mountain goat), brought a special humor and engagement to the event. Cedar shared his story of experiencing a mild spinal cord injury, and how his wife Nellie navigates life with her own SCI.

Nellie was only about 11 months into her injury at the time of the Gala, and she slowly continues to regain function and balance. She just started walking with only her Ankle Foot Orthoses (AFO) and no crutches. She's crushing it. Watching Cedar talk about both of them with that mix of honesty and humor reminded every single person in the room why this work matters.
 

Here's the thing: Cedar and Nellie are on one end of the SCI spectrum. Me, Quinn, your friendly U2FP Development Director lives with paraplegia - full paralysis from the waist down. Many of my friends, colleagues and community members who are quadriplegics are dealing with things more detrimental than the three of us, such as:

  • Inability to breathe without a ventilator. 
  • No hand function.
  • Pressure sores (which can be life threatening). 
  • Bowel programs that take longer than most people's morning work-outs.

This is the stuff that doesn't often make it into the Instagram posts. SCI is not one thing. It's a whole, complicated, maddening spectrum of bodily functions that have been lost. And all of them deserve therapies for recovery and ultimately, a cure!

Last year's inaugural Bird's Nest Gala helped fund something huge: our trips to Washington, D.C. to fight for the restoration of the Spinal Cord Injury Research Program (SCIRP).

In early 2025, SCIRP was defunded. Gone. Just like that, $40 million in federal research funding was zeroed out. This money represented 96 percent “finish-line funding,” meaning the research funded was being used in human clinical trials (ie, beyond labs and rodents).

We went to DC multiple times. We called, emailed and cajoled congressional members. We told our stories to anyone who would listen (and a few who didn't want to). And ultimately we succeeded in restoring $33 million to SCIRP at the beginning of 2026! We didn't get the full $40M restored - but we're not done fighting either. 
 

At left, U2FP's Advocacy Director, Jason Stoffer (center) with Yaz Shah (left) and Karen Brunn (right) late last year. At right, Jason laying out the importance of SCIRP for congressional members and their staff.

This year's gala is helping to fund the next chapter: going back to DC, louder and with more data, to push for full restoration and growth of SCI research funding. Because $33M is a starting number, not a finish line number.

 

To everyone who bought a ticket, bid on an auction item, showed up in person, or participated virtually — thank you! To The Bird's Nest - thank you for donating your beautiful space! To Cedar Wright - thank you for sharing your story. And thank you always to our sponsors and donors who make this whole operation possible.

 

You are the reason we now have a seat at the table in DC. You are the reason I get out of bed in the morning. And you are the reason that some of my fellow SCI community members can grasp a pickle jar, feel when their bladders are full, or maybe even stand up at the counter to grab a mug from the second shelf.  


Thanks again to everyone who participated!


 

PS - If you missed the event and still want to support, consider becoming a monthly donor — the consistent stream of revenue helps us plan and put action to our advocacy work.