The Circle of Willis Foundation is dedicated to the care of patients undergoing treatment for medical conditions associated with the brain, spine, eyes, and ears. The Foundation is specifically focused on supporting individuals and organizations dedicated to excellence in medical resident education, scientific research, patient assistance and medical missions.
The Circle of Willis Foundation derives its name from, and is inspired by, the Circle of Willis: an area of the brain responsible for supplying critical blood flow. Because the Circle of Willis is inherently redundant, brain function can be maintained by a compensating flow when there is a circulatory blockage in one area of the Circle. Like the Circle of Willis, the Circle of Willis Foundation'’s mission is to provide support to life-saving programs when other avenues of funding have failed.
My name is Will Aarsheim and I am the founder of the Circle of Willis Foundation. During my ten year career in the medical device business, I have witnessed the struggles patients face, the challenges doctors experience in delivering quality medical care, as well as the incredible work they do. I have also had the privilege of encountering some wonderful groups dedicated to supporting patients and their doctors. My goal in creating the Circle of Willis Foundation is to focus the attention of individuals sharing my interest in supporting patients and doctors on a small number of very high quality programs with specific funding needs. All donations to the Circle of Willis Foundation will go directly to those programs; administrative costs of the Foundation will be donated by me and any staffing requirements will be met with donated labor.
Saturday, November 6th, 2010
Helen Klein 50 Mile Endurance Run
Are you tired of sponsoring a friend for a few dollars a mile for a walk-a-thon or marathon? Well I am. The Circle of Willis Foundation is about doing more and doing something novel, so I want to go farther - run 50 miles, and do something novel - drink beer while doing it. Why not sponsor me per beer?
We will be adding footage of each beer to YouTube throughout the day.
Click here to go to YouTube search
The beer running inspiriation I never met
Stay tuned for other events - not necessarily beer related!
Here are some examples of the causes we want to help:
Resident Education
Residents are tomorrow's doctors. It may surprise you to know that residents get most of their hands-on surgical training on live patients. Funds for textbooks, travel to training courses, and surgical labs are limited. For example, the Gauger anatomy lab for neurosurgical residents at UCSF lacks instruments used in surgery, new specimens for dissection and standard video equipment used for demonstrations. A neurosurgical resident trained at the Gauger anatomy lab may very well be your surgeon if you develop a brain tumor, an aneurysm or if you sustain a head injury in a car accident.
The Circle of Willis wants to help fund the Gauger anatomy lab and other resident education activities.
Scientific Research
A research lab at Stanford has been making great progress in developing ways to improve the function of artificial limbs, developing technology that allows the brain to control the movement of the fingers of an artificial arm and hand. Though the grants they receive from institutions such as the NIH and DOD are enormous, there are significant restrictions on how the lab can spend such funding. Because of these restrictions, the lab still lacks funding for basic supplies that are not covered by the large grants.
Another area of research benefitting from large grants from the federal government is stem cell research. Although stem cells hold great promise for treating multiple conditions, we are still in the infancy of our understanding of stem cells’ potential, application and effectiveness. Large, complex grants from organizations such as the NIH are critically important to the field as a whole, but again, come with a labyrinth of restrictions. One small, focused grant in the hands of an inspired student with a hypothesis could give life to the next Big Idea.
The Circle of Willis wants to help fund valuable research labs and students with research ideas that can change the world.
Patient Assistance
A young man named I know recently broke his neck in an unfortunate accident that left him unable to walk or use his hands, and therefore unable to work. With a wife and two small children to support, he needed a lot of help. He spent weeks recovering at the Santa Clara Valley Rehabilitation Center. They helped him with a special wheelchair he could use with just his arms and provided support during his rehabilitation.
The Circle of Willis wants to help support organizations like Santa Clara Valley Rehabilitation Center and also provide direct assistance to families in need due to injury or illness.
Medical Missions
Recently, Dr. Philip Weinstein went to Bhutan to help a Bhutanese surgeon who operates with very limited resources. Dr. Weinstein asked for my assistance in locating an electrical generator that stops bleeding. I found one that was more than ten years old and about to be discarded. I added some new cords and sent it with Dr. Weinstein to Bhutan. This piece of equipment that would have otherwise been discarded “brought tears to the eyes” of the surgeon in Bhutan.
Not long ago, my business partner had the opportunity to join Dr. Joe Roberson, an ear surgeon and founder of the Let Them Hear Foundation, on a mission to help restore hearing to several people in a small town in Nepal. This proved to be one of the most rewarding experiences of my partner’s life. While he had the resources to pay his own way, many able volunteers do not.
The Circle of Willis wants to help provide needed equipment to doctors both here and abroad and help fund volunteers to assist them on medical missions.
I hope you will join us in our mission to support doctors and their patients. Please help in any way you can.
All the best,
Will
Coming soon with your help.
Please see the contact page for donation address.
Thank you
Email your pledge:
Send Checks Payable To:
The Circle of Willis Foundation
3001 Bridgeway Blvd. Box 161
Sausalito, CA 94965
will_circleofwillis.org
Sorry, I don't have credit card or text capabilities yet so for now you can mail a check or let me know you have a donation to pick up and I will run by. 501(c)(3) status pending.
