The Noontime Kiwanis Club of Santa Maria is preparing for the 15th annual Find-a-Cure Dinner and Auction to raise funds and awareness about the rare bone condition of fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva, or FOP.

The annual benefit will be held Sunday at 4 p.m. at the Santa Maria Elks Lodge at 1309 N. Bradley Road and $25 tickets will be available at the door.

The rare genetic condition causes bone to form in muscles, tendons, ligaments and other connective tissue, forming a second skeleton encasing the body.

Two local girls, Stephanie Snow, 17, and Cassie Eckart, 19, were diagnosed with FOP as children and since then the Santa Maria community has rallied to raise more than

$1 million to aid in the research of the rare genetic condition.

Two years ago researchers at the FOP Collaborative Laboratory, University of Pennsylvania, discovered the defective gene that causes FOP and thereby increased understanding of other bone-related conditions such as arthritis, osteoporosis and bone cancer.

Dr. Frederick Kaplan, head of the small group of physicians and researchers at the laboratory, will be at the dinner and auction to discuss the gains in the search to find a cure.

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Contributions are welcome any time during the year and checks should be made out to Santa Maria Kiwanis for Kids Foundation, a 501©(3) organization, with FOP on the memo line. Donation entries for the auction are closed due to time constraints.

The event hosted by the Noontime Kiwanis Club and lead sponsor Hyundai of Santa Maria will feature live-auction items such as a custom laid fiberglass canoe made by Miller Boats; two Argentinean hand-tooled horse saddles with a saddle blanket and rack; and sports packages that include tickets to college and pro football games, hotel and dinner vouchers.

Starting at 4 p.m. participants can view silent auction items until dinner at 5 p.m. followed by the live auction and a message from Kaplan.

For more information, contact Jill Parry at 937-9691.

August 2, 2008