Volunteers personally drawn to Geneva Parkinson's fundraiser

Sisters Marypat Kuzma and Carol Rennolds of Geneva said that when their father died six months ago, he asked them to continue supporting the efforts of the Paul Ruby Foundation for Parkinson's Research.

“He wanted us to do whatever we could do to help,” Kuzma said of her father, Don Rennolds, who had Parkinson's. So on Saturday, the sisters volunteered behind the bar at “Concert for the Cure,” the main annual fundraiser hosted by the Foundation at Tanna Farms in Geneva.

Kuzma's daughter, Jenny Derman of Lake Forest, said the event meant a lot to her. “If with research we can do anything to alleviate that pain for anyone else, it would obviously be very exciting,” she said.

The event featured performances by nearly a dozen bands — for the first time on two stages — plus a kids' play area and a silent auction.

Nearly 200 volunteers helped organize this year's event, whose profits are expected to surpass last year's $125,000 total, said Paul Ruby, of Geneva, who founded the organization and now serves on its board of directors. Ruby, 48, who works as manager of the Herrington Inn in Geneva, was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson's in 2006.

The event's profits go toward funding research at Northwestern Memorial Hospital's Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Center in Chicago.

“It is a little overwhelming,” Ruby said of the continued growth of the benefit, now in its fifth year. “It makes me appreciative of the community, and it makes me feel pretty lucky.”

Bryan A. Del Bondio, president of Markham Vineyards in California, attended the event for the second consecutive year. Last year, Markham gave a $25,000 charitable grant to the foundation, he said. This year, Del Bondio flew to Illinois just to participate in the event because he has developed a personal connection to the cause, he said.

“It is in my soul for some reason,” he said.

North Aurora resident Kathy Baumann relished the chance to have a good time while contributing to a cause near to her heart, she said. Baumann's mother, Helen King, was diagnosed with Parkinson's 16 years ago. “I didn't know what to expect, but I really love it,” Baumann said.