Page 3 - Southern Exposure - December '23
P. 3

Southern Exposure, Page 3

      Charity EvEnt from page 1

      wrapped  up  in  a
      Saturday Night Live
      (SNL) theme. With
      four-plus decades
      of iconic characters
      to choose from,
      2023’s attendees
      had no shortage
      of  wild  and  crazy
      inspiration for  the
      evening. With  the
      support of hundreds                                 Classic SNL skits pulsed from big screen TVs, fun music   and Lissa Gumson, whose oldest daughter, Ava, was diagnosed
      of the firm’s friends                             kept the energy high and people on their feet, there were photo   as a baby with Aicardi Syndrome, a rare congenital neurological
      and family over                                   ops in front of iconic SNL backdrops and the food and drinks   seizure disorder which inhibits the normal development of motor
      the  years, Adam                                  from Tequesta Country Club staff dressed as Coneheads kept   skills, sight and speech, causing mild to profound developmental
      and Lissa Gumson                                  everyone fueled in style.                          delays. When she was diagnosed, the Gumsons were informed
      of  Jupiter  Law                                    Flint Technologies donated a laptop computer as it has for   that Ava’s life expectancy was no more than two years. Now
      Center have raised                                many years, It’s Sugar contributed boxes of Schweddy Balls,   19, Ava continues to defy the odds. She attends The Learning
      almost  $600,000                                  and golf-related raffle items provided by Tequesta Country   Academy on the campus of the Els Center of Excellence and
      in donations to the                               Club to ensure that spirits were high and contributions kept   although she is nonverbal, severely delayed and has multiple
      Aicardi Syndrome                                  coming as everyone tried their luck in the evening’s games of   daily seizures, she is a happy, joyful girl.
      Foundation, a 100                                 chance. And of course, Jupiter Law Center’s staff once again     Adam and Lissa have become more and more involved with
      percent  volunteer                                put in countless hours of coordination and were there for the   the foundation each year. What started as a small party with
      run nonprofit                                     evening, insuring guests were welcomed and coordinating   friends and family hosted at the Gumsons’ home in the early
      organization.                                     donations and raffle efforts.                      years has blossomed into a major annual event now held at the
        The signature                                     Nearly $40,000 was raised for the Aicardi Syndrome   Tequesta Country Club. The monies raised since 2006 help the
      event is an Annual                                Foundation and more donations will continue to arrive through   foundation to fund research grants at both Baylor University
      Halloween Aicardi                                 the balance of the year. The event is a passion project for Adam   and the University of California at San Francisco, underwrite
      Costume Party.                                                                                       the cost of wheelchairs and equipment that otherwise may not
      This year’s October                                                                                  be obtainable and subsidize the cost for Aicardi families to
      extravaganza  saw                                                                                    attend the every-other-year Family Conference where people
      attendees dressing                                                                                   from all over the world gather to exchange information. This,
      like their favorite SNL character. From the “nice” of                                                in turn, enhances each family’s ability to care for its own
      Roseanna Roseannadanna to the “naughty” that can’t be                                                Aicardi child. Since only 4,000 girls worldwide are afflicted
      printed in a polite paper (let’s just say there were strategically                                   with Aicardi Syndrome, there is very little money for research
      placed holiday wrapped boxes involved), partygoers reached                                           and the foundation is made up entirely of volunteers (mostly
      into the archives for inspiration. The muse for this annual                                          the affected families and their extended family and friends).
      affair – Lissa and Adam’s daughter Ava – came as a Spartan                                             To learn more about Aicardi Syndrome, the Aicardi
      cheerleader (as did many others in attendance), ready to cheer                                       Syndrome Foundation or Ava Shaye Gumson and/or the other
      on guests who donned costumes spanning the decades, from                                             Aicardi girls, log on to www.aicardisyndromefoundation.
      the early years of Killer Bees, Blues Brothers, Land Sharks,                                         org and/or www.ouraicardilife.org or contact Jupiter Law
      Wild and Crazy Guys and Father Guido Sarducci to Da Bears                                            Center at (561) 744-4600 if you have any other questions
      fans, Hans and Franz, Wayne and Garth, Mary Katherine                                                about Aicardi Syndrome or about how you can help support
      Gallagher, Opera Man, and Sally O’Malley.                                                            the foundation.





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