KATA Foundation Special Projects
Desiring to reflect the lives and hearts of Kendall and Taylor Atkinson, KATA designates a limited amount of its funding for projects that enhance the lives of children and young adults with financial and/or special needs. Below is a sampling of the projects KATA has funded.
To date, KATA has provided over a half million dollars for these Special Projects.
Adaptive Recreation for Childhood Health (ARCH) Program
KATA provided funding for scholarships and programs at ARCH at Children’s Hospital.
ARCH helps kids with physical disabilities find confidence and freedom through sports and outdoor recreation.
Read Logan's Story
Logan has participated in the ARCH program for five years now and it is a definite highlight in his life. When asked what he loves about ARCH, his response is “skiing and snowball fights!”
In March 2021, Logan underwent a very extensive surgery where they basically rebuilt his legs. His surgeon, Dr. Rhodes, who is also involved with the ski program, told him that if they did the surgery in March, and Logan worked really hard, he could be on the slopes for the 2021-22 ski season.
Surgery was done and Logan spent months on a bed in the living room because he couldn’t get into his own bedroom with the leg splints on. He set lots of little goals, but his big goal was always to be on the slopes in time to ski with ARCH.
He worked hard, and he did it! Getting on the ski bus the first day of this past season was such a highlight, and the only thing better was when he got off the bus up at Winter Park and headed for the lift.
Seeing your kids overcome hard things is so rewarding. But seeing them set goals that may seem unreachable, and then not only reach them but completely conquer them, is amazing. I honestly don’t think there was anything else in the world that would have been as enticing for Logan as the ARCH ski program.
Skiing every ski day, hanging out with his friends and volunteers, and ending each day with a snowball fight….those are the things he fought for.
There are so many people that make it possible, and this mom and dad are beyond grateful!
Logan
Courtney & Jeremiah
Contributions to the Kenneth R. Atkinson, MD Endowed Memorial Scholarship
In 2016 KATA co-founder, Dr. Kenneth Atkinson, was tragically killed while rendering medical aid to his neighbor. To honor Ken’s legacy, a group of colleagues established the Kenneth R. Atkinson, MD Endowed Memorial Scholarship at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. The fund provides scholarship awards for 4th year medical students with financial need and academic merit who plan to practice primary care in underserved or marginalized communities. Preference is given to those desiring to practice in Colorado.
LuBird’s Light Fully Accessible Playground
All kids deserve a chance to play! That is the mission of LuBird’s Light and the inspiration for creating a fully inclusive playground at Stanley Marketplace in Aurora.
The KATA Foundation helped make this project possible with a generous donation. The impact of this support has given so many children across Colorado a chance to swing, slide and play freely, allowing kids to be kids.
A Word From Juliet Dawkins, LuBird’s Light Foundation
In September 2021, our foundation opened LuBird’s Light playground, a project that was in the works for over four years. A barrier free surface, wheelchair swing, wheelchair trampoline, accessible treehouse, ladder-less slides and a custom sensory arch are just a few features at the playground.
Thank you, KATA, for helping bring our dream playground to life! The work you do to help children is valued and life changing, and we are honored to be a recipient of your support.
Funding for Annual Meeting
for Adults with FA
This meeting is offered annually by the Fanconi Anemia Research Fund. It is an opportunity for individuals with FA ages 18+ to meet other adults with FA, learn about medical and research updates, attend support sessions, and participate in voluntary research studies.
My name is Mary-Beth Johnson. I’m 26 and I have Fanconi anemia. I climb mountains, make avocado roses, and I spend a lot of money at Target when I’m stressed. I had an older brother, Danny, who died of FA over 20 years ago. Ever since then, I’ve balanced a great isolating act when it comes to the FA community.
READ MY STORY
If I’m being completely honest, I was peer pressured to attend the Adult FA Meeting. I went in silently, kicking and screaming, convinced that I could remain stoic and detached…that I was there for the science, and to learn how to boss my doctors around better.
But here’s the thing. There’s a magnetic quality to other people who share parts of your story; The anxiety, fear, the memorized blood count numbers. The feeling that you need to squeeze as much life into your years as possible. The necessity to love, love, love and rise, rise, rise and continually chase after joy in the face of uncertainty.
There is no better antidote for isolation than to find your heart in other people. Maybe that sounds melodramatic (my brain operates at a base level soap opera), but when you’re an adult with FA it can be hard to explain the crossroads where you live.
As an adult with FA, I want a lot of things for my life. I want to have a successful career. I want to be generous, hopeful, and life-giving for the people around me. I want a family. I want to travel the world with the love of my life. I want old age. GOSH, I want old age. Give me the wrinkles, age spots, the Velcro sneakers; I crave sassy grandma status.
As an adult with FA, I also keep a list of my symptoms. I message my doctors every other week. I force them to check and recheck for cancers. I pay way too much money just to be sure I’m still healthy. I lose sleep sometimes, imagining what it will be like when my waiting is over and I finally get a diagnosis.
So you see, when I walked into a room with 41 other adults who were thriving in their present, dreaming and working for their futures and claiming control over their health, I felt a new part of my heart.
I will forever be indebted to the adults with FA. For creating a community of generosity and hope. For sharing the pit of feelings. And for finding the resilience to climb out of the pit, with arms reaching down to pull others up.
Kendall & Taylor Atkinson Foundation
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KATA is a charitable 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Donations are tax deductible as the law allows. Tax ID #20-4404637