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Dear friends and family,
We are excited to start our second year of helping families with MMD
have hope for the future of their children.
Your generosity last year was spectacular, and I hope
that you can join us again in supplementing the funding for Dr.
Mahadevan's lab at the University of Virginia. Thanks to you, Mani's
lab is better equipped than ever before and he will have 3 new lab
assistants by this November!
Shortly after receiving the following email from Mani I had the
pleasure of visiting the lab and meeting one of his new post - docs,
Shagufta. I was also able to see the new equipment they will be using
for therapeutic investigations.Mani wrote:
"Things are going fine
in the lab. I think I might have told you that Ramesh Yadava got
a grant from MDA that will provide support for him for the next three
years. That's great news because now Ramesh can spend most of his
time focusing on developing therapeutics. Also, I have hired
three new people in the last couple of months. Two of them have
now joined the lab. One is a post-doc from India who joined the
lab on Aug 1st. Her name is Shagufta. The other fellow is a
recent undergraduate from UVA who is very smart and has lab
experience. He will help us move some projects forward
quicker. His name is Ahmad and he will probably be with us for
the next 12 to 18 months. The third person is a post-doc coming
from India as well. He will be here by November hopefully.
There are two reasons I have been able to hire these people; one
is Ramesh's grant allows me to hire someone else with the money we save
on our current grant. The other is the money you have
raised. This has given me the confidence to take a few chances in
hiring new people."
Our sons continue to fight this illness daily and as
you know it's progression is inevitable at this time. Please help
us again this year to win this very winnable fight.
Edibell and Todd Stone
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| 2008 Summer Events. Thanks for being
there! |
Presentation to the NIH -This
June we had the great opportunity to speak to the National Institute of
Health (NIH) on behalf of families with MMD. I must say we (mostly Todd
and his film making) did a fantastic job and were able to
stir the
committee's interest towards helping to fund promising research
for MMD. Our
presentation was followed by a Charles Thorton, MD from Rochester New
York who's work
further supports that a cure is close and funds are crucial to continue
on this path. Also, it was important to us to show the panel that
there are at least 2 newly formed organizations, The Stone Circle of
Friends and The Myotonic Dystrophy Foundation (MDF) that are paying
attention to their decisions.
Bob
Battle & Brett Leake put on a night of laughter at
Infuzion Ice Bar this past June. Both comedians raised awareness of MMD
and shared inspiration; Brett has muscular dystrophy, and as he notes
he is stronger today than he will be tomorrow... "life is about today".
Bob arranged and coordinated the entire event which raised a good
amount for Mahadevan's research at UVA.
In July we hosted a Latin Party, with Son
Cuatro! It was well attended and lots of fun. Great Latin
food, drinks and dancing. We also were able to donate funds to research
from this event.Thank you to the large number of volunteers and Malabar
restaurant who donated the delicious Jasmine rice.
 Ukrop's Golden Gift
Certificate Program -Thanks
to your many donations of your Golden Gift Points, we were granted
$1,225 for MMD research. Every certificate made a difference.
Please keep us in mind for next year.
Kathy Sharer-
In a spectacular show of creativity and compassion Kathy Sharer
contacted Canadian cartoonist, Lynn Johnston, author of For Better or for Worse (comic
strip). Kathy shared about the Stone Circle and our efforts. We
received a nice letter in return and we hope many blessings will come
from this connection.
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2008 Upcoming Event:
Richmond Half Marathon and Marathon Runners form an "MMD
team" to raise funds and awareness!!!
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Anne Searles, Holly Vinson, Kate Thompson, Miriam Tice, Sara Martin,
Marilyn Pendlebury, Megan Smith and Richard Honzo are running to crush
MMD!!!!!
Please consider pledging... even a little bit and even if you
don't know the runner... to encourage and support all of us in making a
difference to the research. To pledge ... SCF Runners
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SAVE THE DATE
Saturday April 25,
2009 Gala
Hosted at The Children's Museum |
Preparations are beginning...with many of our same committees
members and volunteers from last year, so if you enjoyed last year's
event you will not be disappointed. Please join us for a great time to
give this illness a powerful setback by helping us raise lots of funds-
100% going to research. We raised over $80,000 last year... I would
love to break $100,000. Will you help us? Please tell your friends and
family, we can do it while having a great time!!!
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Check
us out!! Skirt! Magazine
September Issue
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Skirt! magazine is a new
publication in Richmond and can be found outside of most Ukrop's stores
in a bright green newstand. They heard of our efforts through one of
our supporters and published an article about my thoughts... They asked
me to list my "5 rules for living." I based most of my answers on my
yoga practice (most of you know about my love for Bikram Yoga). So
check it out and if you would like send a letter or email to the
publisher. This will help us extend our exposure and raise further
awareness. Thanks!
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Thanks for your continued
support. If you would like to volunteer in any capacity send me an
email or call 804-467-9998.
Sincerely,
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