Naperville soccer fundraiser nets $31,000 to 'Cure SMA'

Naperville-area high school students and community members who came together for an evening of soccer with an unusually large ball raised $31,000 for a disease that affects a 15-year-old student at Metea Valley High School.

The Big Ball Soccer Tournament on Saturday, Sept. 27, at Players Indoor Sports in Naperville used a 40-inch exercise ball so anyone could play, including people in wheelchairs such as Angie Lee, who has spinal muscular atrophy.

The event raised money for the Cure SMA Foundation, and it was the latest in a series of annual fundraisers organized by a collection of Naperville neighbors called Kyra's Idea Angie's Hope.

The organization supports research toward a cure for spinal muscular atrophy, which progressively weakens the nerves in the spinal cord and decreases muscle strength throughout the body.