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Texas Bluebonnet Chapter Celebrates Chapter’s 10th Birthday with Special Event Featuring Celebrity Jason Alexander

Jason Alexander with sister, Karen Greenspan

The Texas Bluebonnet Chapter celebrates its 10th anniversary at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 12 at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, 4848 Main St., Houston, with a special program called "Up Close and Personal—An Evening With Jason Alexander in Celebration of the 10th Anniversary of the Texas Bluebonnet Chapter."

Hollywood celebrity and former Seinfeld cast member Jason Alexander is the special guest. Alexander, whose sister, Karen Greenspan, has scleroderma, is the national spokesman for the Scleroderma Foundation. He will give a brief talk and mingle with guests at this invitation-only event.

“Texas is a great state and has proven to be a great innovator in the treatment of scleroderma. The Texas Bluebonnet Chapter is a great chapter to be working with,” said Rita Kirkup, executive director of the chapter. “We’re focused on helping people who have this terrible disease and their family and friends. Our first 10 years have gone fast and been productive. In the next 10 years we hope we can tell the people of Texas a cure has been found. A good bit of ground-breaking scleroderma research is being done right here in Texas.”

“Unfortunately, most people have never heard of scleroderma, so it is up to those who are directly or indirectly affected by scleroderma to get out the message,” Kirkup said. “We want people to know they’re not alone.”

This theme—you’re not alone—has been a part of the philosophy of the Texas Bluebonnet Chapter from its 1995 founding in the home of Fran Waranius in Houston.

“We were able to get the names of 113 people with scleroderma and we invited them, now we’re well over 1,200 on our mailing list,” Waranius said. “And when we did our first newsletter we titled it You’re Not Alone because that is our message to people with this disease—that we were here and they no longer had to feel alone.”

Texas is active in the fight against scleroderma. The Scleroderma Family Registry (which is looking into possible genetic causes for scleroderma) is located at The University of Texas at Houston. Single lung transplants for scleroderma patients were pioneered at The University of Texas Transplant Center in San Antonio.

The man believed to be the longest living scleroderma transplant patient in the United States—Larry Rolfe—lives in Conroe.

The work of the Texas Bluebonnet Chapter helps raise money used to fund at least $1 million in annual research grants given by the Scleroderma Foundation. These peer-reviewed grants have brought greater understanding of improved treatments for elements of the disease.

Jason Alexander Up Close and Personal will be an evening of casual chic. Though this is an invitation-only event, any member of the media who may wish to attend or talk with Jason Alexander about his work with the Foundation can make arrangements by calling Rita Kirkup at 713.436.1640.

Chapter founder Fran Waranius can be reached at 281.486.5972.

For other media needs, please contact Chris Underation at 978.463.5843 or by e-mail at cunderation@scleroderma.org.

Download invitation. (pdf format)