Chalkbird Inc. Retires the Chalkbird Firebird After Years of VEDS Awareness Work Across the Community

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Dan Sperry, Founder Chalkbird Inc. info@chalkbirdinc.org (833) 567-7275 CHALKBIRD.ORG

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The 1985 Pontiac that started a movement will be remembered for the conversations it started and the lives those conversations may have saved

Hewitt NJ — Chalkbird Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to awareness, education, and research for Vascular Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (VEDS), announced today that the Chalkbird Firebird, the organization's signature 1985 Pontiac painted entirely in chalkboard paint, has been officially retired from active service.

The decision was not made lightly. And it was not made quickly.

The Firebird last appeared at a car show in May 2025. Over the following year, Chalkbird INC attempted to bring the car to four additional events. Each time, the vehicle was unable to make the trip. For twelve months, We quietly worked to find a path forward, exploring repair options, weighing costs, and hoping for a solution that never came.

"I wanted to make it work," Sperry said. "We tried for a year to make it work. This wasn't a decision we made in an afternoon. It was one we kept putting off because we weren't ready to make it. But at some point, honesty has to win."

The Firebird requires significant mechanical repairs. After careful consideration of the nonprofit's financial responsibilities and its commitment to directing donated resources toward its core mission of VEDS education, awareness, and research, Chalkbird Inc. determined that the cost of restoring the vehicle was not an appropriate use of the funds entrusted to the organization by its supporters.

"Every dollar that comes to Chalkbird was given because someone believed in this mission," Sperry said. "Keeping the car on the road at this cost would mean taking resources away from the work that actually saves lives. The first responder education, the awareness materials, the research funding. As much as this car means to me and to everyone who ever drew on it, the mission has to come first."

A Car That Became Something More

The Chalkbird Firebird was never supposed to be the centerpiece of a nonprofit. It was a 1985 Pontiac painted in chalkboard paint, a car Dan brought to car shows as a way to start conversations about a disease that had quietly taken members of his family for over a century before anyone knew its name.

What happened next surprised everyone. Kids drew on it. Parents stopped to watch. Strangers asked questions. And in those conversations, casual, joyful, and completely unplanned, VEDS awareness found the people who needed it most. The car became a symbol of everything Chalkbird believes: that awareness doesn't have to be clinical to be life-saving. That joy and education can exist in the same moment. That a piece of chalk and a good conversation can change a family's future.

There is something quietly fitting about this moment. The Firebird is 40 years old. The median life expectancy for an undiagnosed VEDS patient is 48. The car carried VEDS awareness for years and now rests at the same age that too many VEDS patients never reach. It is a poetic coincidence that is not lost on anyone who has followed this organization's work.

Looking Forward

The retirement of the Firebird does not slow Chalkbird's mission. If anything, it focuses it. The organization will continue its First Responder and EMT VEDS Awareness Briefing program, community education initiatives, and research funding efforts with the full weight of its resources directed toward those goals.

"The car drew people in," Sperry said. "But the conversation was always the point. We can still have those conversations at events, online, and in fire stations and EMS bays across the country. The chalk is gone. The mission isn't."

A Note on the Future of the Firebird

Chalkbird Inc. has not ruled out the possibility of returning the Firebird to service if a sponsor or partner were to come forward to fund the necessary repairs. The organization is not actively soliciting that support but remains open to conversations from anyone who feels called to be part of preserving the car's legacy. Interested parties may reach out directly at info@chalkbirdinc.org.

About Chalkbird Inc.

Chalkbird Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to saving lives through awareness, education, and research for Vascular Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (VEDS) and other Heritable Disorders of Connective Tissue. Founded by VEDS patient and survivor Dan Sperry, Chalkbird works with families, first responders, medical professionals, and communities to ensure that no family faces VEDS in silence. Learn more at CHALKBIRD.ORG or visit WHATISVEDS.ORG for VEDS information and resources.

EIN 93-1437981 · 501(c)(3) Public Charity