B*CURED, a non-profit Greenwich-based organization founded in 2008 to end brain cancer, hosted it’s 10thannual fundraiser, The B*CURED Ball, at Chelsea Piers in Stamford, to commemorate 10 years, B*CURED’s fundraiser was held on the turf field at Chelsea Piers, giving guests access to the batting cages, trampoline, ping pong and pop-o-shot, among other activities. This year’s event, hosted by B*CURED’s Co-Presidents Karena Bailey and Kristin Duda and Event Co-Chairs Kelly Buchalter, Julie Church, Ashley Fox, Julie Karish and Courtney Wilson, also featured DJ April Larken, an incredible silent auction, catering by Nikki Glekas Events, a wine toss and a heartfelt video about B*CURED and it’s progress. The event raised over $200k and will enable the charity to fund an additional three to four brain cancer research grants.
B*CURED Co-President Kristin Duda said, “B*CURED is very personal to all of us who have been part of B*CURED the past 10 years as well as the community that supports us. I lost my Mom to brain cancer when I was 16 and many of us have lost a parent as well as close friends in the prime of their lives to this devastating disease. Being part of B*CURED has allowed us to see firsthand that change is possible.” Karena Bailey, the other B*CURED Co-President, commented, “Sadly, brain cancer related deaths surpassed leukemia as the number one killer of children and adolescents—a stark reminder that we must re-double our efforts to find new and more effective treatments. B*CURED has a grant program that is funding innovative research, like the well known immunotherapy treatments, but also blood tests to detect if brain cancer will someday affect a person, and even various out of the box treatments for children and adolescents. We are relentless in our mission to find a cure.”
To date, B*CURED has allocated close to $2 million across 27 research grants at top universities and hospitals including Memorial Sloan-Kettering, Yale, Columbia, Mass General and Cleveland Clinic, among others. From James Purzner’s incredible work at Stanford University to Justin Lathia’s change-making studies at Cleveland Clinic, B*CURED’s grants are giving our brightest minds the resources they desperately need to level the playing field. B*CURED is an all-volunteer organization and has ongoing athletic and fundraising events throughout the year.
Photographs by Cheryl Moss