Giving Big

I was on the track team when I was in high school. Each year, during Winter Track season, we had an annual fund-raiser for muscular dystrophy. The fund-raiser lasted 24 hours. We arranged ourselves into teams of four people. Each team ran around our winter track for an hour (one person ran a mile, passed the baton to the next person to run a mile, and so on.) Then we rested for three hours until it was our team's turn again. I can't remember exactly how much we raised; my guess is that we raised about $20,000 annually.

This is a mere pittance.

Students at Highland Park High School hold an annual fund-raiser too. They choose an organization which meets the following criteria: 1) the organization must focus on children, 2) have a local connection, and 3) be small enough that the money raised will significantly boost research budgets.

This year, the students chose to raise funds for CURED. Every single penny they raise will go to research on eosinophilic disease.

Unlike my high school track team, these children give BIG. They raised $247,000 for CURED. An anonymous donor has offered to match what they raise, bringing the total to nearly $500,000 for research on eosinophilic disease.

You can read more about their efforts in this first Wall Street Journal article, in this second Wall Street Journal article, and on the CURED Web site. Go ahead and watch the closing ceremony. It's amazing.

Talk about making a difference! To my knowledge, that's the most money EVER spent on eosinophilic research - in TOTAL!

Thank you Highland Park High School students. You are truly inspirational. And a great big thank you to the anonymous donor who, in one swift pen stroke, made a difference in a HUGE way.

As a family who suffers from eosinophilic disease, we're grateful for your fund-raising efforts. You truly have made a difference. Thank you.