Thank you Alliance for Lupus Research for all you do and for allowing me to be apart of your efforts to raise money for Lupus Research.
Thank you to the Jets organization and owner, Robert Wood Johnson IV, who chairs ALR. Thanks to your generosity ALR is the world’s largest private funder of lupus research. Every cent it raises goes directly to support “the best lupus research in the world!”
Thanks to the Jets’ organization who kindly let me feel like the coolest kid in the class September 28th…being on the field with Brett Favre for the coin toss! ALR must have been the good luck charm for the game against the Arizona Cardinals. That’ll teach those Cardinals not to shake my hand! Prior to the game I was fortunate enough to to join ALR staff and volunteers in distributing fifty thousand purple lupus awareness bracelets and collecting donations from fans as they entered the stadium gates. To date, Jets’ supported events have “raised over six million dollars for ALR funded lupus research programs”. ALR Awareness Day at the Jets’ Game was another success!
Successful too was yesterday’s 5k Walk in New Brunswick, at Rutgers Cook College Campus for ALR’s Central New Jersey Annual Walk With Us to Cure Lupus! Last year there were 300 registered walkers. This year there were 1500 registered walkers! Many saw the public service announcement that My9 aired throughout its programming day. I talked about how Lupus affected my family directly when my daughter was diagnosed with Lupus. Thanks to Joe Silvestri who produced the piece and thanks to the My9 production staff too. I confess it took me a few tries to get through it. I’ve blogged about it here, too. I don’t think I’ve said thank you to a few other people though….and since I’m doing a thank you today, this is more than a year ago, waaaaay overdue!
Thank you to my colleagues and friends, Russ Salzberg, Maryann Muro, Pat Collins, Carole Cooper, Ernie Anastos and Rosanno Scotto. Russ was at the hospital and making phone calls to me and for me, every day. So was Maryann who held Kelly’s tiny hands filled with all kinds of IV’s at the time, and prayed at her bedside. Pat and Carole and Ernie and Rosanna were there for us too in calls and prayer and we all cried together. Thank God today we can share in progress and hope.
There was lots of hope seen in the faces of walkers yesterday: Volunteers from Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, Saint Peters University Hospital, Latoya’s Walking Angels, Keeb’s Elves, Team Tara, Jessie’s Dream Team, Jessie’s Dream Team, Omega Phi Beta Sorority; Team Tigger, Douglas Black Students Congress and other corporate sponsors and national supporters who included Steve Jones and Al Glover. And Sheri Kirkpatrick, kudos, always!!!
ALR’s mission is to prevent, treat, and cure lupus through medical research. I believe it can happen. Thank you for doing your part to make it possible.
Thank you Brenda for all your support for the walk i’m a big supporter of this walk each year since i’ve been working at RWJUH. My brother died from lupus at the age of 19 he had this disease when he was in the 6th grade, after his high school graduation he passed on november 1996 we all miss him to this day but i know one day the cure will be found. Thank you again for coming out your smile alone was the sun shine of he day.
By: Horace Thompson on October 6, 2008
at 8:09 pm
Hello Brenda. I pray for you and your daughter, Kelly all the time. I suffer from Systemic Lupus terribly. I started getting sick when I was age 14.
My heart goes out to you and your family. Just know that we are all one big family working together toward a cure.
Love Sylesia
By: Sylesia on October 8, 2008
at 3:47 pm
Dear Brenda,
Thank you for your personal and public support of this disease and it’s awareness. I have been living with Lupus for 8 years now and am glad to see it getting more and more recognition and awareness each year. With everyone’s collective efforts, I too feel that we can find a cure for this disease soon. I walked today for the LFA, NJ Chapter in Union County and plan on doing the walk next year too. I can’t say thank you enough!
All my Best, Debbie DeCerbo
By: Debbie DeCerbo on October 19, 2008
at 10:47 pm