Fire Creates Big Loss For Charity


SAN DIEGO -- A fire burned the office building of the Challenged
Athletes Foundation, just one month before its biggest fundraiser of
the year.

The blaze broke out Saturday afternoon at the foundation's office in
Sorrento Valley.

The foundation helps disabled athletes reach their athletic dreams by
supplying them with sports prosthetics and other equipment.


Their fundraiser, which comedian Robin Williams participates in every
year, is scheduled to be held at La Jolla Cove in October.

The office was being used to store the event's materials and silent
auction items.

"We've been working on it all year long," said Virginia Tinley of the
Challenged Athletes Foundation. "Everything for the event was in that
storage room, so it's a gigantic loss for us."

Investigators said the cause of the fire has not been determined, but
did say it was not arson.

The Challenged Athletes Foundation said it is trying to salvage what
it can and is working to relocate.

Obviously, we are facing a lot of work to re-stock and replace the
items destroyed in the fire. If you would like to help, please
consider making a donation on our web site:
www.challengedathletes.org.