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Aaron Braun |
The fourth-year UNMC medical student is days away from teeing off his third charity golf tournament in memory of his father, Marvin, who died of leukemia in 1996.
In all, 200 golfers will participate in the third annual Marvin Braun Leukemia Classic golf tournament July 8 at Tiburon Golf Club near 168th St. and Hwy 370. A benefit dinner/party ($40 donation requested) will follow at the Braun family cabin near Elkhorn, Neb. Braun hopes the events raise $15,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
“If I can help someone else, it’s worth it,” Braun said. “There are a lot of things I would have liked to have done with my dad that I won’t have the opportunity to do. But, if we can have fun and support a cause, that’s the goal.”
Braun was 15 when his father died at age 50. In between Husker football games and fishing trips with his two sons, the elder Braun donated countless hours to local charities.
“I always wondered why he’d get up at 6 a.m. on a Friday and go to breakfast at the Cosmopolitan Club,” Braun said. “He led more by example, but I won’t ever forget, he said, “There are a lot of people who aren’t as fortunate as we are, and it’s our duty to help them because God has made us so lucky.”
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Aaron Braun with his dad in July 1991. |
Besides fixing rental houses and working for the State of Nebraska to help veterans find jobs, Braun’s father was a member of the Shriners, Camp Floyd Rogers and the Cosmopolitan Club. He also rang bells for the Salvation Army, delivered presents to needy families on Christmas and served meals to the homeless.
“I don’t know how he did it all,” Braun said.
Some may wonder the same about Braun.
The charity event has grown from an informal gathering of 25 golfers in 2004 to 200 this year. “It was a great idea and it really got going. I don’t do anything halfway,” said Braun, estimating he’s spent about 800 hours organizing last year and this year’s event.
“It’s all worth it, especially when everything goes smoothly and it’s the best golf tournament and no one knows how much time it took. Plus, I wanted to give back like I know my father would have continued to do. I also wanted to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, so that hopefully we can find a cure so fewer people will have to go through what my father and his family did.”
The Omaha native praised the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for being among the top voluntary health agencies in terms of dollars that directly fund their mission. Nearly 76 percent of the society’s expenditures are directed to research, patient and community services, advocacy and education.
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is committed to finding a cure for leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma and Hodgkin’s disease. Every 5 minutes, someone new is diagnosed with a blood cancer. As a result of ongoing research, overall survival rates for leukemia have tripled in the last 39 years.
“Hopefully, we can help another family so they won’t have to go through what we did,” Braun said. “If we can’t save the person’s life, maybe we can give them a few more months with their family.”
For the second year, Braun will donate $1,000 of the proceeds to Eric and Friends, a charitable organization in memory of Eric Johnson, which provides short-term assistance to families in need. “It helps support people who supported me when I needed it,” said Braun, who is friends with Eric Johnson’s brother, Kent.
In addition to charity work, Marvin Braun and his sons attended Husker football games, jet skied at Table Rock in Missouri, golfed, fished and fixed rental properties. “He taught me work ethic, which will take me farther in life than anything else,’ Braun said.
Braun didn’t consider medical school until he tagged along for his father’s bone marrow biopsies and chemo treatments. “I saw how doctors impacted our family and thought I could bring a lot to the table,” Braun said. “Now, I’m seeing it from the other side. I definitely have a lot more sympathy for patients and their families.”
In May, Braun will graduate from UNMC’s College of Medicine. He hopes to do a residency in interventional radiology at UNMC, helping diagnose and treat patients. “It’s what I’ve wanted to do from day one in medical school,” he said.
Meanwhile, he’ll do a month long rotation in internal medicine in Australia in February and continue with his charity events. “We’re fighting for a cure and won’t stop until we get there,” Braun said.
For more information on the charity events or to make a donation, visit the Marvin Braun Memorial Classic Web site at www.BraunClassic.org.