Grand Rapids family hosts 40th annual golf outing fundraiser supporting Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. , July 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- For 40 years, residents of Grand Rapids, Michigan , have supported the mission of Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD) , a nonprofit organization leading the fight to end Duchenne muscular dystrophy (Duchenne) , by participating in the annual Friar Fight to End Duchenne Golf Tournament . Created and organized by the Friar family in honor of their son Kyle (20) and in memory of their son Kevin, who lost his fight with Duchenne in 2018 at 18 years old, this event has raised more than $1,300,000 for PPMD since its inception.
The 40th Annual Friar Fight to End Duchenne Golf Tournament will be held on Saturday, July 27, 2024 . The Friar Fight to End Duchenne Golf Tournament began in 1985 when Mike Friar convinced friends to skip school the last Friday of their senior year at East Kentwood High to play a two-man scramble at a local golf course. A tradition began and the charity golf tournament was started.
The fundraising became personal for Mike and his wife DeAnne when their sons were diagnosed with Duchenne, the most common life-limiting genetic condition diagnosed in childhood, affecting approximately one in every 5,000 live male births. In 2004, the Friar Fight golf tournament focused its fundraising efforts to benefit PPMD, along with a series of other fundraising events hosted by the Friar family. Grand Rapids resid.
