I want to tell you about a great cause in which my family has participated for the past ten years. It’s called the Race for Hope – DC and it benefits the National Brain Tumor Society and Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure charities. This cause is very close to us, as my wife, Brenda, lost her previous husband, Alex Van Emden, Jr., to brain cancer on January 7, 2003.
Following Alex’s diagnosis in late 2001, the family began participating in the Race for Hope under the banner of “Team Alex.” In recent years, we’ve continued to sponsor Team Alex in order to honor Alex Van Emden, Jr. and with the goal of raising as much money as possible to combat brain tumors, so that other sufferers will hopefully experience a happier outcome. We usually have a team of 20 or more participants.
The 15th annual Race for Hope will take place in Washington, DC on Sunday, May 6, 2012 at the Freedom Plaza. So far, this year’s event has raised over $211,000 already and over $15 million total since the first race was run fifteen years ago. It is one of the largest fundraisers in the country benefiting those suffering from brain tumors.
The race attracts thousands of runners and walkers each year. Some important facts about brain tumors that illustrate the urgent need for support include the following:
· Brain tumors are one of the leading causes of cancer death for those under 20 years of age.
· Each day 575 people hear the words, “You have a brain tumor.”
· There are 600,000 people in the U.S. living with a primary brain tumor.
This year, the Baltimore law firm of Huesman, Jones & Miles, LLC would like to support this great cause online as well as on foot. For every new Twitter follower and Facebook “like” we receive, we will contribute a dollar in Team Alex’s name to the Race for Hope—DC.
To learn more about the Race for Hope-DC, visit their website at https://www.braintumorcommunity.org. There you can learn more about the charitable organizations supported and how to donate, sponsor a participant, create a team, or register as a runner/walker. Thanks to ordinary people like you who participate, promising research into new therapies–and hopefully a cure–continues to progress. There is hope!
