Ken Cummings

Fund Raiser, Role Model, Record Holder

Spring 1974 Graduate

        A true Lincoln legacy, Ken followed in the footsteps of his father, William also a Lincoln graduate and an All American basketball player. After attending Herbert Hoover, Ken went to Lincoln where he was an all around athlete, playing basketball, football and baseball. Following graduation, he played on Dante Benedetti's All City Team as a pitcher. After graduating with honors from Diablo Valley College. Ken earned a scholarship to attend San Diego State University. In 1982, Ken dove off a diving board into a friend's swimming pool. As he hit the bottom, Ken broke his neck. The accident paralyzed him from the neck down. For many, this tragic accident would have engendered a life filled with bitterness. But for Ken, instead of defeating him, his condition caused him to dedicate his life to funding spinal cord injury research and finding a way for the quarter of a million people afflicted with his condition to walk again.

        Ken's fund raising technique is unique. Ken travels across country rolling in his wheel chair. Corporate sponsors underwrite his trips. People then pledge a specified amount of money for each mile he rolls. In 1987 he rolled from San Francisco to Los Angeles. In 1994, he rolled from San Diego to San Francisco. In 1995, he completed a round trip between San Francisco and San Diego. In 1996, he rolled from San Diego to Washington, DC. And in 1997, he rolled from San Diego to Disney World then to San Francisco before rolling back to San Diego. All told, 7000 miles in three months. These trips have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for paralysis research. But they have not been without a price, for his journeys are perilous and he has been injured in almost every journey. In 1995 he broke his left knee and two toes. In 1996, he bruised three ribs. In 1998, he broke his left hip, his left ankle, bruised his ribs and elbow and worst of all, suffered a skull fracture leaving him in a coma for two days. These injuries have only steeled his determination. He is currently organizing a fifth trip across the nation for the year 2000.

        In recognition of his many accomplishments, Ken was inducted into the Abraham Lincoln High School Wall of Fame in May 1999.