Major gifts announced at the annual dinner dance.

Faculty and directors from 22 physical therapy programs across the country, as well as private individuals and representatives from chapters, sections, and corporations, pledged almost $80,000 in response to a challenge issued at the Foundation's 2006 Dinner Dance in Orlando, Fla, to collectively match the $100,000 donation made that evening by Stanley Paris, PT, PhD, FAPTA, and wife Catherine Patla, PT, DHSc, OCS.

The Paris-Patla donation, made from the University of St Augustine Stanley Paris and Catherine Patla Research Fund, is one of the most generous received by the Foundation and comes with "no strings attached" as an unrestricted gift.

In announcing the gift, Paris underscored the importance of research to the physical therapy profession and committed his university to lead the way in supporting research through the Foundation for Physical Therapy. "The University of St Augustine for Health Sciences will significantly increase its support of the Foundation as the best place to invest our precious research dollars," he said.

Also that evening, former Foundation President/Chair Jayne L Snyder, PT, MA, announced her pledge to donate $100,000 to the Foundation over 5 years. In her announcement, Snyder expressed the importance of building the Foundation's overall endowment to ensure a secure future for the Foundation and the research it supports.

The Foundation's endowment fund balance has grown from less than $800,000 in 1999, to a current balance of more than $3 million and can continue to grow as the Foundation receives more of these generous gifts.

After the surprise announcements from Paris, Patla, and Snyder, Tony Delitto, PT, PhD, FAPTA, and Foundation Trustee Dan Riddle, PT, PhD, FAPTA, took the opportunity to offer a challenge for matching gifts. "If the 210 schools with physical therapy programs each donate $500," Riddle told the audience, "we can match the generous gift from Stanley and Catherine."

He noted that students from 51 schools this year raised $132,772 in their Pittsburgh-Marquette Challenge fundraisers, a 25% increase over last year, and he encouraged faculty and directors to meet the students' level of commitment to physical therapy research.

To see a complete list of the donors who responded to the challenge issued by Delitto and Riddle, please go to the Foundation Web site, www.apta. org/Foundation. (If any schools that shouted a pledge that evening were missed, please contact the Foundation at 800/875-1378.)

Pledges are still being accepted. Payments can be sent to: Foundation for Physical Therapy, Dinner Dance Challenge, 1111 North Fairfax Street, Alexandria, VA 22314, or donors can download a Contribution Form from the Foundation Web site and fax it to 703/706-8536.