Dear Alliance member,

As summer comes to an end, the KCMSA looks forward to beginning a new year of meetings and events. In September we kick off with a tour of the Grand Idea’s Garden and learn how a vacant lot was transformed into a beautiful city oasis for all to enjoy. In October we will tour the Van Andel Institute and, following the tour, we will celebrate International Osteoporosis Day by attending a program sponsored by the Translational Orthopaedic Research Program, a collaborative effort of the Van Andel Institute, Orthopaedic Associates of Michigan and Spectrum Health. The guest speaker for this event is Laura L. Tosi, MD, Director of the Bone Health Program at the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Her practice focuses on orthopaedic management of children with physical disabilities and birth defects. Dr. Tosi also works to increase physician awareness of bone health issues for women and children, with the goal of reducing debilitating bone injury through a patient’s lifetime. Dr. Tosi has lectured extensively on women’s bone health, particularly osteoporosis prevention, to women’s organizations throughout the United States.

Looking ahead, we will be celebrating the 20th (Emerald) Anniversary of the KCMSA Charity Ball for Children. This year’s Ball will be held February 6, 2010 at Cascade Hills Country Club and the proceeds will benefit Gilda’s Club Grand Rapids and Kids’ Food Basket. Gilda’s Club funds will go towards expanding the Children’s Grief program for children (ages 3-18) who are grieving the death, by illness, accident, murder or suicide, of someone close to them, family member or friend. Here, children can find free support among their peers - with specific groups for teens, "tweens" and younger children. Kids’ Food Basket is a hunger relief organization in Grand Rapids that provides children with an evening meal (sack supper) each weekday. Kids’ Food Basket serves area children attending schools or summer park programs where 80% or more of the students live at or below the poverty level. Funds from the KCMS Alliance Charity Ball will be used to provide sack suppers for one to two additional schools from a current waiting list of 16 schools. The additional funding will insure 100 to 200 more children in Grand Rapids will receive a nutritious sack supper every school night through the Kids’ Food Basket program. We hope you will help us support these two worthy charities by joining us for a fabulous evening of dinner, dancing and auction on February 6th. We invite our current members to renew their membership at this time. We also invite physician spouses or physicians new to our organization to join us. Membership information and forms are available on the website.

Please feel free to contact us via email at info@kcmsalliance.org.

I look forward to serving the Alliance.

Holly Hirai Jones, President
president@kcmsalliance.org