Help Us Make a Difference In The Lives of Brain Tumor Patients and Caregivers! 

Join us for our 3rd Annual Tee Up for Brain Tumors charity event on Sunday, May 5, 2024, from 4:00 - 7:00 PM at Topgolf Virginia Beach. Sign up now through Friday, April 26, 2024.  Enjoy hours of Topgolf play, good food, and fun with family and friends, all while supporting a great cause!

Tee Up for Brain Tumors is a charity golf event hosted by WINKS – With INtentional Kindness and Support, an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization working on behalf of brain tumor patients and caregivers in Hampton Roads. Tee Up for Brain Tumors will help WINKS strengthen connections with the community through a shared goal of improving the lives of others. 

The funds raised will benefit our Empathy in Action program, which provides need-based support for ordinary and necessary living expenses, resource connections, and other tangible assistance for brain tumor patients and caregivers. 

About WINKS

OUR VISION

Lifting the Burdens for Brain Tumor Patients and Caregivers, so they can Focus on the Fight!

OUR MISSION

Enhance the quality of life for brain tumor patients and caregivers With INtentional Kindness and Support – no journey is traveled alone!

OUR IMPACT

WINKS provides emotional, financial, logistical, and informational support services through its Empathy in Action program. WINKS has given $45,000 in Empathy in Action grants, urgent funds requests, and Brain Tumor Power Packs.  Support services include the following:  

• Urgent funds requests for medical copays and transportation 
• Needs-based grants to qualifying brain tumor patients and/or caregivers  
• Through a partnership with local medical facilities, Brain Tumor Power Packs are distributed to newly diagnosed patients and their families, empowering them to make informed decisions from the beginning of their journeys
• Quarterly support groups, one-on-one mentoring, and resource connections for brain tumor patients and their families

Why Support

Unlike some illnesses, people can go a lifetime without knowing a brain tumor patient, as the likelihood of a malignant brain tumor diagnosis is less than 1%. Unfortunately, because people give to causes close to their heart, it can be difficult to rally support. WINKS, with your support, can help shift that dynamic.  

THE FACTS 

• DIAGNOSIS: 700,000 people are living with a primary brain tumor; roughly 3,600 live in Hampton Roads (~120 diagnosed annually)
• LIFE-ALTERING IMPACT: More than any other cancer, brain tumors can have lasting and life-altering physical, cognitive, and psychological impacts 
• FINANCIAL IMPACT: Brain tumors represent the highest per-patient initial cost of care for any cancer group
• METASTATIC BRAIN TUMORS: Each year, ~70,000-170,000 cancer patients are diagnosed with metastatic brain tumors (~100,000 will die annually)
• LOSS OF LIFE: ~18,990 people will lose their life in 2023
  • Pediatric brain tumors are the leading cause of cancer-related death among children, ages 0-19 years.
• SURVIVAL RATE: For malignant brain tumor, the five-year relative survival rate is 35.6%
  • For the most common form of primary malignant brain tumors, glioblastoma, it is only 6.8%

To learn more about WINKS, please visit winksbt.org.