Guests arriving for the National Kidney Foundation of Illinois (NKFI) “Gift of Life Gala: Bridging The Gap Towards Kidney Health” came face to face with a reminder of the organization’s critical mission as they entered the Hyatt Regency Chicago. The bright orange KidneyMobile which travels the state was parked right out front.


NKFI CEO Jackie Burgess-Bishop told us of the importance of having the life-saving vehicle at the 36th Annual “Gift of Life Gala” which attracted 200 guests and raised $200,000.

“Our mission at NKFI is to improve the health and well-being of people at risk for or affected by kidney disease through prevention, education and empowerment. One of our key outreach and screening programs for prevention and early detection of kidney disease is our KidneyMobile. We travel throughout the state providing comprehensive screenings in vulnerable communities. The Illinois Department of Public Health provides funding support for the KidneyMobile. Therefore, we wanted to acknowledge our partnership and felt that it was important for our Gala attendees to see a visual representation of some of the important work that we do in Illinois.”