Stop SMA is a passion project started in 2009 by Jeff and Dee Horton, with the support of many friends and family. We are on an indefinite hiatus for now, as life has taken us in new directions. The field of treatments for SMA looks far better than it did when we started—there weren’t any in 2009. We’re grateful for that and like to think we had a hand in it.

This page lives on to share a small slice of the fun times and real impact we achieved together with the community. Here are some of our favorite accomplishments.

• We raised $600k for SMA research, with the help of the community and sponsors.
• We donated 12 wheelchairs to newly diagnosed families through our Chase Me project.
• We advocated for legislation that streamlined the FDA approval process for SMA research projects. And legislation passed with Mississippi congressional sponsors.
• We advocated for more research dollars at the NIH for SMA, which were tripled.
• We hosted seven comedy concerts to raise funds and awareness—and to have some laughs!
• We hosted five golf tournaments and many other fundraising and advocacy events.
• We won the Pepsi Refresh Project contest—twice!

Thank you

We couldn’t have achieved these wins without the support of our friends, family, sponsors, volunteers, entertainers, and more, all who gave of their time or money to help us reach our goals. We had great community support, with many folks coming out to our events, telling friends, and donating to the cause.

We don’t want to start naming names because we’d be here forever—there are so many people who played a part! But know that we appreciate each and every one of you. It still blows our minds to this day how much generosity was shared with us.

Photos

Here is a small selection of photos from some of our events. For more photos, check out our Facebook page.