At the first Kidney Kup Golf Tournament in 2018, James Walker began taking action against kidney disease. When his best friend from high school, Eric Lewis, told James that his mother had been diagnosed with kidney cancer, James stood up to help in whatever ways he could. It had become a pastime of his and Eric’s to golf together. So, when the Kidney Kup was created by another longtime friend, Scott DeFriese, James was ready to step in.
Given his previous experience with planning golf tournaments for other organizations in the past, James was Eric’s ”go-to guy” for advice on putting together the event. Since the Kidney Kup’s inception, James has gathered a team to play in honor of Eric’s mother who continues to bravely face kidney disease daily.
James’s most recent contribution to The Kidney Foundation was his participation in the largest fundraiser of the year, Dare to Dance. Each celebrity dancer at the event is asked to choose a program to support with the money that they raise. James and his partner, Amanda Plecas, decided to support the Medical ID Tag Program. All money that was raised in James and Amanda’s names went directly to the program which provides medical ID tags to patients within the greater Chattanooga area, at no cost.
“[Dare to Dance] was amazing, just amazing,” says James. “The whole team of everybody, all the dancers, how everybody came together and supported each other over those six months of preparation to raise funds and set records was just incredible. I’m so proud to say that I got to be a part of that.”
With The Kidney Foundation, all of the funds that are raised at our various events stay 100% local. This means that every dollar raised at the record-breaking 2021 Dare to Dance event went directly to Chattanooga area kidney patients that needed assistance with basic human services.
James and his wife, Debbie, attended Big Hair Affair for the first time this past year in support of Dare to Dance. Big Hair Affair is a yearly event in which attendees dress up in their best 80’s throwback attire to celebrate The Kidney Foundation’s founding, as well as the first kidney transplant at Erlanger Hospital in 1989.
“The reach is just so big at the foundation and that really is a highlight and a testament to what Heather, Susannah and Kirbee can do,” says James. “The Big Hair Affair was just so much fun for Debbie and I, and it’s for such a good cause, too.”
Because of people like James, The Kidney Foundation is able to share more resources to kidney patients in the Chattanooga and Cleveland areas. If you want to get involved in an upcoming event, visit our events calendar tab to see what is next.
