Combining a passion for a greater cause is not unusual -- unless it’s extreme.

In this case, there aren’t many people who would disagree that Kevin Burkart’s effort to raise money and awareness for Parkinson’s disease by jumping out a perfectly good plane 100 times could be labeled as “extreme.”

Burkart grew up in Prior Lake and is the president of Step Stone Group, a comprehensive creative agency in Savage. He plans to skydive at least 100 times on June 4 from Skydive Twin Cities in Baldwin, Wisc.

Burkart’s father, Gary, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1999. Since then, the Burkarts have become advocates for research and care for Parkinson’s patients by serving on research boards and attending seminars.

“I think this is a great opportunity for him to do something he really enjoys doing and combine it with a need, that is research for Parkinson’s disease,” Gary said.

Kevin plans to jump every six to eight minutes all day to make the 100 jumps. He will have six identical rigs and six people packing and repacking the chutes, totaling $36,000 in donated gear and labor. Two Cessna 182 planes, which are smaller and can get to altitudes faster than larger planes, will work together to bring Kevin up to 2,200 feet.

He will follow a “hop-and-pop” style where he will use quick-release hardware to remove the harness from his body once he hits the ground with the parachute still open behind him.

As for the toll on his body: “It will be like running a marathon,” he said.

Gary said he plans to be there to make sure Kevin is safe.

“I’ll do anything I can to help him meet his goal, but I’ll pull the whistle and tell him when it’s too risky,” Gary said. 

Fund raising for the event began about five months ago and Kevin said he is about half way to his $40,000 goal.

The money will be split between the Parkinson Association of Minnesota (PAM), which seeks to provide care for Parkinson’s patients, and the National Parkinson Foundations (NPF), which conducts research into treatment and cures.

“The skydiving is just a gimmick. The day is to draw attention to Parkinson’s disease,” Kevin said. “It’s not successful if the funds aren’t raised.”

That gimmick is one that surprised even the father of this thrill seeker.

“I thought it was a crazy idea,” Gary said of when Kevin first mentioned he wanted to jump 100 times in one day. “I wouldn’t jump out of an airplane for less than $10,000.”

In addition to the skydiving, Kevin said he is working on getting other events planned at the site. A moon walk for kids is being planned to allow children to “Jump for Parkinson’s” with Kevin. Sponsors can donate $100 and have one of Kevin’s jumps be in honor or memory of someone. The person’s name and story will be announced during the jump and an autographed photo of the jump will be given to the sponsor.

Kevin also encourages people to come watch because it will be a good chance to view many more jumps than they would on any other typical day.

Also, Skydive Twin Cities has agreed to donate a portion of their proceeds from other skydiving adventures that day to the cause as well, Kevin said.

How it started

Kevin’s passion for the air goes back to his childhood. He always had an interest in anything aeronautical, he said. His first skydiving experience was when he was about 8 years old and he had a bedsheet over his head as he jumped off the roof of his garage.

“That didn’t go over too well,” Kevin admitted.

Gary said he didn’t recall that event, but pointed out that the garage was partially underground so the jump wasn’t too far.

Since then, however, Kevin’s jumps have gotten much more sophisticated.

His first jump from a plane was a gift from a friend to do a tandem jump -- when a trained professional is harnessed to the back of a jumper and the professional does all the work.

After looking into it, Kevin knew that wasn’t what he wanted and he decided he wanted to do it alone.

“It was such a sense of accomplishment,” he said. “I really like to do things.”

Now, over 700 jumps later, Kevin is a member of a four-person competition formation team called Fast Forward.

“It’s just a sense of adventure,” Kevin said. “I enjoy the concept of human flight.”

As for Gary, Kevin said he’s doing well.

There are ups and downs, but the medications to control the disease are really powerful and there are many side effects.

“He’s really lucky -- he’s here,” Kevin said.

For more information visit www.perfectjumps.com.

Keighla Schmidt can be reached at kschmidt@swpub.com.

Online

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