Charity & Community News

Kure It Cancer Research's Annual Rivals Cup Golf Tournament Friday, June 9, 2023

All Rivalries Welcome, Join Us and Represent Your Alma Mater   Sponsorships and Tickets Now Available For Questions, Contact Jackie Kurtz: jackie@kureit.org

Over $165,000 Raised for Cancer Research by the California Self Storage Association and Its Members

For immediate release July 22, 2022.

Contact: Jackie Kurtz, 949-748-5916/jackie@kureit.org

Kure It Cancer Research is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based out of Irvine, California. Kure It was started by US Storage Centers and Westport Properties founder, Barry Hoeven, after his own cancer diagnosis. The organization’s mission is to provide direct funding to support the brightest minds in translational research for underfunded cancers at leading cancer centers. With more than 90% of cancers being considered “underfunded,” Kure It provides research grants ranging from $50,000-$250,000 for researchers thinking outside the box with cutting edge projects and concepts. To date, Kure It has raised more than $12.6 million for cancer research and holds true to the belief, “Together We Can Eradicate Cancer”.

As the charity of choice for the California Self Storage Association, Kure It has worked closely with the CSSA, partnering together to help raise money for these worthy causes. Over the years Kure It has been a participant at the CSSA’s annual conferences, both in Napa and Balboa, hosting various fundraising events and displaying their Round Up for Research program to owners and operators in the self-storage industry.

During this year’s Balboa Owners Summit, Kure It took the stage at the conference and made an appeal to help award the next cancer research fund in the name of the California Self Storage Association. There was an overwhelming amount of support, with several owners standing up and making gifts on the spot. The event was a huge success with over $165,000 being raised during that quick ask. The pledges made that day will be added to funds from the 2021 events along with the CSSA Napa Conference to award a cancer research grant at a Comprehensive Cancer Center in California in honor of the CSSA and its members.

Kure It would like to recognize those that stood up and pledged their support to make this new research grant possible.

Platinum Sponsors, $25,000-$50,000

Ken & Athelia Woolley, Extra Space

 

Gold Sponsors, $10,000-$24,999:

Brian and Denise Caster, Caster Properties

Robert Chiti, OpenTech Alliance

Steve Clark, Stephen Clark and Bob Baker, Clark Investment Group

Pam Domingue, Storage Solution

Joanne and Denny Geiler, So Cal Self Storage

Bill Hobin, StoreQuest

Drew Hoeven, Westport Properties

Michael Schwatrz, SmartShop

Nick Walker, CBRE

 

Silver Sponsors, $5,000-9,999:

Talonvest Capital

 

Partner Sponsors, $1,000-$2,499:

Karen Branson, Branson & Branson

David Brett, David Brett Co

Alex Meshechok, York RE Captial

Chuck Mills, CEM Capital

Kenneth Nitzberg, Devon Self Storage

Marc and Laurie Smith, Personal Mini Storage

Shannon Tarnutzer, Allspace Storage

Peter Watson, Westport Properties

 

 

Friend Sponsors, $100-999:

Steve Cobbs, Invesco

Anne Mari DeCoster, Storelocal Storage Co-op

Ben Hall, Westport Properties

Margaret Martin, Pegasis Group

Natalie Ochi, SKS Management

Karen Reggio, Storelocal Storage Co-op

Tommy White, Westport Properties

To learn more about Kure it please visit their website: www.kureit.org or contact Jackie Kurtz at jackie@kureit.org.

February is Bile Duct Cancer Awareness Month. Take a look at a few ways you can reduce your risk factor of this and many other cancers:

-Eat a healthy diet 

-Get regular exercise and maintain a healthy weight

-Reduce alcohol consumption, excess alcohol can lead to cirrhosis

-Get a Hepatitis B vaccine, to avoid cirrhosis

-Take steps to avoid Hepatitis C infection, which can lead to cirrhosis 

We invite you to check out Kure It's social media pages on Instagram and Facebook to stay up to date on cancer research facts. 

Join Kure It at their annual Rivals Cup Golf Tournament and support vital cancer research at UCLA and USC Comprehensive Cancer Centers. Mark your calendars for November 6th, 2020 at Pelican Hill Golf Club and visit Kureit.org for more details or to sign up to sponsor or play.

Posted by: Erin King

For Immediate Release                                                          July 18, 2016  

You know Amazon.com Inc. is big when you do a search for “Amazon” and get the company instead of the river, rainforest or women warriors that Amazon used to refer to in the good old days. Such is the popularity of shopping on Amazon that it merits first consideration of search engines. But thanks to programs like “AmazonSmile” the company continues to grow and now self storage owner/operators and managers can find another way to give to the charities of their choice.

For California Self Storage Association (CSSA) members, it represents and opportunity to help support a worthwhile charity like Kure It simply by purchasing items on Amazon Smile and making sure that Kure It is selected as the recipient of Amazon’s donation. Amazon will donate 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible products to the charitable organization of your choice. Every item available for purchase on www.amazon.com is also available on AmazonSmile (smile.amazon.com) at the same price. You will see eligible products marked "Eligible for AmazonSmile donation" on their product detail pages.

“Self storage professionals in California have always been generous when it comes to causes like Kure It and AmazonSmile is another way they can help,” says Erin King, Executive Director of the CSSA. “I don’t know about anyone else but my house is an Amazon house. It is a great way to support a program with something so many of us use a lot.” 

On your first visit to AmazonSmile you need to select a charitable organization to receive donations from eligible purchases before you begin shopping. Amazon will remember your selection, and then every eligible purchase you make at smile.amazon.com will result in a donation. You can change your charity any time. Your AmazonSmile purchases after the change count towards your newly selected charity. You can choose from almost one million eligible 501(c)(3) public charitable organizations. 

“It is nice to see a company like Amazon do what it can to help worthwhile causes,” adds King. “Now self storage has another way to do its part.”

 

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Posted by: Brenda Lafontaine

For Immediate Release:
Thursday, May 21, 2015

Dr. Sabine Mueller will receive $200,000 to support innovative, translational pediatric brain cancer research

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — The Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center of the University of California, San Francisco and Kure It Cancer Research are pleased to announce that Sabine Mueller, M.D., Ph.D., will receive a 2015 HDFCCC-Kure It Cancer Research Grant for Underfunded Cancer Research.

The Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center (HDFCCC) partnered with Kure It Cancer Research to provide a grant for underfunded cancer research. Funds are provided by a $100,000 award from Kure It Cancer Research, and will be matched with $100,000 from the HDFCCC for a single two-year award of $200,000. Kure It awards this grant in the name of the California Self Storage Association (CSSA). The CSSA is a pivotal partner of Kure It Cancer Research, and members of the association have contributed the funds for this important grant.

Mueller’s project “Using Hyperpolarized 13C Pyruvate to Assess Response in Pediatric Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma – A Non-invasive Response Biomarker” aims to develop tools that would allow assessment of early response to drugs that treat children with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG).

“Children with DIPG continue to have a dismal prognosis with an average of only 9-months survival after diagnosis. No clinical progress has been made over the last several decades, and almost all affected children die from the disease,” said Dr. Mueller, a pediatric neurology specialist.

“We hypothesize that a major reason accounting for treatment failure [in DIPG] is the presence of tight blood brain and blood-tumor barriers. Many of the [drugs] being evaluated in clinical trials are chosen empirically, and knowledge about [drug] penetration [into the brain] is often unknown. Therefore, it is crucial to develop tools that would allow assessment of early response and be markers of penetration [of drugs into the brain tumor].” Sabine Mueller is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Neurology, Neurosurgery and Pediatrics, and a member of the Pediatric Malignancies Program of the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center at UCSF.

“Given her background as a trained child neurologist and neurooncologist, [Dr. Mueller] is poised to answer critical questions that will improve long-term outcome for children with brain tumors,” offered S. Andrew Josephson MD, Acting Chair of the Department of Neurology at UCSF. Kure It Cancer Research (www.kureit.org) was established in 2010 to fill the gap in funding and place cancer research dollars directly into the hands of the investigators. To date, Kure It Cancer Research has raised more than $3.7 million for cancer research. With this remarkable standard of giving, Kure It is able to directly support groundbreaking research at leading cancer centers across the nation.

Posted by: Brenda Lafontaine
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A-1 Self Storage donates money to support Serving Hands International in San Diego, CA

San Diego, CA – August 1, 2014 – A-1 Self Storage, the premier provider of self storage in San Diego, CA, announced today their monetary donation to Serving Hands International. Serving Hands International was founded after a large family and many friends made a tradition of giving to the poorest of the poor in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. Serving Hands has grown over the past 30 years, expanding their monetary support to partners in Peru, Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan, and the Philippines. The mission of Serving Hands International is to aid the poorest people in the world and strive to encourage in them self-sufficiency, dignity and hope by providing educational and vocational opportunities, food, clothing, shelter, medical assistance and spiritual guidance.

“A-1 Self Storage is honored to support Serving Hands International. I recently visited Serving Hands International’s partners in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico and was impressed with the work they are doing south of the border. Their service and dedication to the poor was impressive,” said Brian Caster, President and CEO of A-1 Self Storage.

For more information about Serving Hands International, please visit: http://www.servinghands.org/

About A-1 Self Storage:

A-1 Self Storage is one of the leading providers of self storage and car storage in California with 18 locations in the San Diego region and over 48 locations statewide. A-1 is the Self Storage division of the Caster Companies, a third generation family-owned company headquartered in Southern California since 1959. The Caster Companies specializes in acquisitions, development and management of A-1 Self Storage, A-1 Car Storage and other commercial properties in California. Its Real Estate Portfolio includes over 4 million square feet in real estate properties. It is one of California’s largest independent self storage and car storage owner/operators.

CONTACTS:
Cori Garrod
A-1 Self Storage
(800) 219-4854 x 122
press@a1storage.com
www.a1storage.com

Posted by: Brenda Lafontaine

Media contact: John Egan, SpareFoot
jegan@sparefoot.com
512-705-6208

SpareFoot, which operates the country’s largest online marketplace for self-storage units, has established the SpareFoot Storage Industry Disaster Relief Fund to help victims of the recent outbreak of tornadoes in the South and Midwest and to assist victims of future disasters.

SpareFoot invites self-storage operators, self-storage vendors and other companies in the storage industry to contribute to the fund to help victims of the recent deadly tornadoes. To donate to the fund, visit http://selfstora.ge/SpareFootGives.

Through the Crowdrise fundraising platform, all proceeds will go directly to the American Red Cross for disaster relief.

"The recent tornadoes devastated so many communities in the South and Midwest. Storage facilities that are part of our network operate in many of these communities,” SpareFoot CEO Chuck Gordon said. "We thought the best way SpareFoot could help would be to set up this fund for the storage industry to pool money and collectively show that the industry cares about victims of these tornadoes and future disasters.”

About SpareFoot

SpareFoot, based in Austin, TX, makes renting self-storage easy. Our free marketplace lets customers find and reserve storage units online. We have the largest inventory of storage units in the U.S., with a network of more than 7,000 facilities ranging from mom-and-pops to publicly traded REITs. We reach millions of people who need storage through exclusive partnerships with brands like SelfStorage.com, ForRent.com and Penske Truck Rental.

For more information, visit SpareFoot.com.

Posted by: Brenda Lafontaine 

We are proud to announce our founder Terry Caster, and his wife Barbara’s generous donation to Rotary International. These funds will support Rotary International’s Global Polio Eradication Initiative (http://www.polioeradication.org/).  Rotary’s efforts to eradicate polio world-wide include advocacy, public awareness, and immunizations in countries such as Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan.  Polio remains endemic in these countries.  Polio can strike at any age, but mainly affects children under five years.  Although there is no cure for polio, it can be prevented through immunization.  The polio vaccine almost always protects a child for life.

"It is an honor to support such a worthy cause.” said Brian Caster, President and CEO of A-1 Self Storage. "We are proud to support Rotary’s lifesaving work and world-wide effort to eradicate polio.”

To read more about the Caster’s gift to Rotary International or to make a donation to this worthy initiative, please visit https://www.rotary.org/en/couple%E2%80%99s-11-million-gift-boosts-push-eradicate-polio.

Posted by: Brenda Lafontaine

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A-1 Self Storage donates money to support the 7th Annual Walk to Cure Psoriasis event to be held on October 12, 2013 in San Diego, CA.

San Diego, CA – September 5, 2013 – A-1 Self Storage, the premier provider of self storage in California, announced today their monetary donation to the San Diego-headquartered National Psoriasis Foundation to support their 7th Annual Walk to Cure Psoriasis event to help raise funds and awareness. The walk will be held on Saturday, October 12, 2013 in Old Town. Their goal is to raise $70,000.00, which will go towards funding research to finding a cure for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.

Psoriasis is a chronic autoimmune disease that appears on the skin and can occur on any part of the body. It is usually associated with diabetes, heart disease and other serious health conditions. There are five different types of psoriasis but the most common is plaque psoriasis, which appears as raised, red patches covered with a silvery white build-up of dead skin skills. Regardless of its appearance, it’s important to know that psoriasis is not contagious.

The National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF) is a non-profit, voluntary health agency dedicated to finding a cure for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis and eliminating their devastating effects through research, advocacy and education.  Founded in 1968, the Psoriasis Foundation has evolved to become the leading patient advocacy group for the 7.5 million Americans living with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. For more information, please visit: http://www.psoriasis.org

 "It’s it an honor to support a national organization with a local presence, whose work supports approximately 80,000 people suffering from this disease in San Diego County.” said Brian Caster, President and CEO of A-1 Self Storage. "My nephew suffers from psoriasis, so I understand how devastating and frustrating it can be to the individual suffering from it.  We hope that through research and education, a cure will be eventually be found and the general public will become well aware about psoriasis and that it is not contagious.”    

To find a San Diego County A-1 Self Storage, please visit: http://www.a1storage.com/self_storage/San_Diego_Region/a-1_self_storage

Or to find an A-1 Self Storage location near you, please visit:

http://www.a1storage.com/self_storage/locations

About A-1 Self Storage:

A-1 Self Storage is one of the leading providers of self storage and car storage in California with 17 locations in the San Diego County area and over 42 locations statewide. A-1 is the Self Storage division of the Caster Companies, a third generation family-owned company headquartered in Southern California since 1959. The Caster Companies specializes in acquisitions, development and management of A-1 Self Storage, A-1 Car Storage and other commercial properties in California. Its Real Estate Portfolio includes over 4 million square feet in real estate properties. It is one of California’s largest independent self storage and car storage owner/operators.

CONTACTS:

Fran Laporga-Ching | A-1 Self Storage | (800) 219-4854 x 141 | press@a1storage.com | www.a1storage.com