SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES
Help a veteran and win tickets to final KeyArena game before rebuild
Oct 1, 2018, 4:19 PM
Do you want to donate to a worthy cause, and get a shot at free tickets to the final KeyArena game before the stadium’s grand makeover? If you make a donation to veteran aid organization Run Freely by this evening, you can get in the running for a pair of tickets to Friday’s NBA exhibition game at KeyArena between the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors, along with a Friday afternoon lunch with Warriors head coach and eight-time NBA champion Steve Kerr.
For ESPN reporter Kenny Mayne, life changed forever when he suffered a fracture-dislocation while playing college football in 1980. From then on, even after undergoing 10 surgeries to try to fix the problem, every step Mayne took brought immense pain.
It wasn’t until last year, when Mayne discovered the ExoSym, a brace-like device invented by prosthetics designer Ryan Blanck of Gig Harbor, that he was finally able to walk and run again without agony.
RELATED: Seattle City Council approves $700M KeyArena renovation
“You stick this thing on, and next thing you know, you’re walking and running without pain,” he said.
Amazed at the difference the device had made in his own life, Mayne was determined to use the breakthrough to help the men and women who have suffered debilitating leg injuries while protecting the freedom of Americans.
“Once I got it, I was so blown away … I couldn’t believe my good fortune, and we said, ‘We should do something good with this,'” Mayne said.
Mayne started Run Freely, a nonprofit that raises money to buy the same leg devices that Mayne uses for injured veterans. So far, Run Freely has donated ExoSyms to four veterans, three men and one woman.
“They’re expensive, so we’re happy every time we get one out the door,” he said.
The fifth ExoSym will be awarded with the proceeds from tonight’s donations.
To enter for a chance to win tickets to the game and lunch with Kerr, make a donation on Run Freely, then take a screenshot of the donation, and share it with Mayne on his Twitter page, @Kenny_Mayne. The donation can be for any amount.
“Give whatever you think you can,” Mayne said.
The winner will be announced during halftime of the Chiefs-Broncos Monday Night Football game tonight.
