To wrap up October, the 1st Annual Houston Strollathon was a huge success!

On October 31st over 400 people gathered at Rob Fleming Park in The Woodlands, TX to Stroll and Roll their way to a cure. With over 30 families in attendance this first time event raised well over $35,000 that beautiful Saturday morning. Strollers and Rollers participated in a silent auction and a raffle and enjoyed the music of The Seldom Herd and Kevin and Colton Black. Schwan’s foods handed out ice cream and the Salvation Army provided water and Halloween treats. After the walk the Halloween Costume Contest commenced. Winners included Lady GaGa, an Angel, a cowboy and a Lady Bug. The costumes were great and everyone had a spooking good time! A BIG thank you goes out to Kenna Seiler – the brains behind this 1st Annual Strollathon! We cannot wait to see what she has in store for next year! Thank you to all of the volunteers and sponsors for your support! We couldn’t have done it without you!

Click here to see pictures from the 1st Annual Houston Strollathon!

On the evening of November 1st Dosey Doe in The Woodlands, TX was packed with IRSF supporters and country music fans as Kevin Black opened for his brother Clint Black.

Kevin was quite the entertainer, as usual – one moment he had the room in stitches with his southern charm and the next he had them in tears as he sang the song he wrote for his late daughter, Cortney, who lost her battle to Rett syndrome just a few years ago. Kevin wrapped up his performance as an auctioneer in the Live Auction portion of the evening. He once again had the entire place in tears, but this time from laughter. The Live Auction was not only extremely entertaining but it raised $48,000 for IRSF and Rett syndrome research!! Two of the items, both Autographed Clint Black guitars, went for well over $10,000 each!! After a standing ovation from the crowd, Kevin was joined on stage by his brother. Clint Black began his performance with some of his classics and the crowd loved every second of it. The involvement and support of the Black family means so much to all of us at IRSF and to the families – thank you to Clint, Kevin and the rest of the Black family for all they do. As most of you know, IRSF recently kicked-off the Research to Reality Campaign – a major gift campaign geared toward accelerating treatments and reversing Rett syndrome in which Country Music Star Clint Black will be chairing. To launch this campaign IRSF was awarded a $1Million challenge grant by the Pioneer Fund, a private family foundation out of Denver, CO. This incredible gift was a result of Clint Black’s relationship with Figure Skating Star Scott Hamilton who is on the Pioneer Fund’s Board of Directors. During his performance on Sunday night, Clint presented IRSF with the $1Million check from the Pioneer Fund. On top of that, Schwan’s foods, who have also partnered with IRSF, presented Clint and IRSF with a check for $25,000!!! This is a result of Schwan’s 6-state fundraising truckload sale. The evening continued to get better from there, if you can imagine that! Clint continued to deliver an incredible performance and toward the end he invited his brothers Kevin and Brian up on stage for a “Black Family Jam Session”. The brothers were also joined by Kevin’s son Colton. The 4-man show was one of the highlights of the evening. Their proud mother stood the balcony as they sang, told jokes and all around entertained the jam-packed Dosey Doe house. It was a heart-warming, magical evening and really set the tone for the path that lies ahead for IRSF and our supporters. As the weekend came to a close friends, family and golfers gathered one last time to show their support for the sweet Rett angels.

Click here to see pictures from Clint Black's performance!

On Monday November 2nd the 6th Annual “Tee It Up For Rett” Golf tournament pulled in close to 100 golfers.

At the Bentwater Golf Course in Lake Conroe, TX the weather was perfect and the golf swings were even better. As golfers played their best games they were greeted by Clint and Kevin Black along the course. Shaking hands and taking pictures, Clint and Kevin thanked each and every golfer for their support of IRSF. And last but not least, the biggest thank you goes out to Dave Clements. Dave, along with Kenna Seiler, was the brains behind this incredible weekend. He is one of IRSF’s biggest supporters and when thanked by IRSF staff he replied – “It’s not about me, it’s not about you, it’s about the girls – they are why I do what I do.” So on behalf of the Board and Staff of IRSF and the countless families and their Rett angels whose lives you have touched – THANK YOU, Dave, for all that you do and your unyielding commitment to the cause. We are proud to have you on our team.

Click here to see pictures from the 6th Annual Tee It Up For Rett Golf Tournament!