2015 May Newsletter - Debbie`s Dream Foundation

President's Message
Our Dream Makers Gala and Symposium on
Saturday, April 18, 2015 in Fort Lauderdale
were both a tremendous success with 600
people registered for the Gala and 175
registered for the Symposium. Many thanks
to our supporters and everyone who made
these events possible. We are raising funds
for research and to support and educate
stomach cancer patients, families and
caregivers around the world.
As Mother's Day approaches, we give special thanks for the mothers
who are working every day to cure cancer, whether as a doctor,
nurse, scientist, advocate, patient, or caregiver. It is a privilege to
work alongside you! Whether you are celebrating the day in
appreciation of the moms in your life or in loving memory of a mother
you remember in your heart, we extend our warmest wishes to you
and your family. Please consider making a donation today In Honor
Of or In Memory Of a special Mom in your life.
Make a difference today by becoming a volunteer, attending or
hosting an event, starting or joining a chapter, becoming an
advocate, and/or making a donation. There are lots of ways to get
involved with DDF.
2015 May
________________________
______________________________
In This Issue
Shop for Mother's/Father's Day
National Cancer Survivors Day
Nutrition & Clinical Trials Webinar
Series
Dream Team in the Chicago Half
Marathon
Youth In Action
Ways DDF Can Help You
Ways to Support DDF
Dream Makers Gala
Stomach Cancer Education
Symposium
AACR - Conference Attendance
The Color Run Dream Team
Thank you for dreaming BIG with me to make the cure for stomach
cancer a reality!
Debbie Zelman
DDF President and Founder
Robert V. Semenza. 4th Annual
Softball Tournament
Boston Marathon Dream Team
Relay for Life
3rd Annual Advocacy Day
Save the Dates
________________________________________________
Shop for Mother's Day or Father's Day
AmazonSmile - Use Amazon Smile for your Mother's/Father's Day shopping and
Amazon will donate 0.5% of the purchase price to Debbie's Dream Foundation
Inc. Bookmark the link and support us every time you shop.
iGive.com - Shop using iGive. It's easy to log in online, choose Debbie's Dream
Foundation as your charity, and the retailer automatically donates a percentage
of your purchase to DDF. There are over 1300 retailers such as Amazon.com,
Macy's and Orbitz. Register today!
Purchase DDF Merchandise for your mother or father, and 100% of the
proceeds go to help stomach cancer patients, families and caregivers; to fund
advocacy; and award research grants.
Year Round Cooperating Vendor- DDF has vendors that donate a percentage
of your purchase to Debbie's Dream Foundation. Just mention DDF at the time of
your purchase. CLICK HERE to shop with one of our year round cooperating
vendors.
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
National Cancer Survivors Day
Sunday, June 7, 2015
In honor of National Cancer Survivors Day, Debbie's Dream
Foundation (DDF) will be hosting a virtual art gallery of original
art created in honor of stomach cancer survivors. To
participate, please submit an original work of art (drawing,
painting, sculpture, or photography) by mail or e-mail to DDF by
June 1, 2015 with a brief paragraph (200 words) including a
description of the art and the survivor. Art should be created
with the theme "A Celebration of Life." For more information and participation information
CLICK HERE.
_______________________________________________________________________
Wednesday, June 10, 2015 - 12pm EST
Nutrition & Clinical Trials Webinar
Cancer patients face many challenges and don't have enough information
about many areas, two of which are nutrition and clinical trials. Join us for
this FREE webinar by registering HERE.
12:00pm EST - Nutrition for Cancer Patients Webinar
Speaker: Jocelyn Lutkus RD, CSO, LDN of Meals to Heal
12:45pm EST - De-Mystifying Clinical Trials Webinar
Speaker: Al Benson III, MD, FACP, FASCO of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
To become a Sponsor or Promotional Partner of this webinar, CLICK HERE.
_______________________________________________________________________
Dream Team in the Chicago Half Marathon
Sunday, September 27, 2015
Join the Illinois Chapter Founder Linda Grush and the DDF Dream
Team for the Chicago Half Marathon and 5k on September 27, 2015.
Runners will run on Lake Shore Drive and pass the Historic Jackson
Park, the Chicago Skyline, Hyde Park, and the Museum of Science
and Industry.
CLICK HERE to make a donation, for a discount code, and registration information.
_______________________________________________________________________
Youth In Action - Debbie's Dream School Clubs
Start a School Club - If you are interested in starting a DDF School Club, we
can provide you with a "How to Start a Debbie's Dream Club Manual" which
includes tips and information on how to get involved as well as fundraising ideas.
For more information or to inquire about whether a club is in the works in your
area, please contact us at (855) 475-1200
email to [email protected].
(855) 475-1200 FREE or send an
NEW Youth Leadership Council - Rachel and Zachary Guttman founded a
DDF Youth Leadership Council (YLC) which is comprised of all the Presidents
and Vice Presidents of the DDF School Clubs. The YLC convenes quarterly
meetings and updates DDF School Clubs about DDF events and opportunities to
volunteer. Schools update each other about events they have worked on. The
YLC also helps to make the formation of new clubs easier and the function of
existing clubs smoother.
_______________________________________________________________________
Ways Debbie's Dream Foundation Can Help You
Request a Free Stomach Cancer Brochure - CLICK HERE to download this informative
stomach cancer brochure or contact our office to have a copy mailed to you.
Free Clinical Trials Matching Service - Clinical trials are the primary means by which
new cancer treatments are developed, tested, and approved for use. Therefore, clinical
trials for new drugs are essential. For more information on clinical trials and to find clinical
trials, simply CLICK HERE.
Patient Resource Education Program (PREP) - CLICK HERE to enroll in our FREE
PREP program and to be directed to a Mentor who can help you understand your
diagnosis, treatment options, side effect management, and management of the
disease. You will be able to share concerns and stories and hear tips and advice.
_______________________________________________________________________
Ways You Can Help Debbie's Dream Foundation:
Create a Tribute Page to Honor a Loved One. Debbie's Dream Foundation gives you
the ability to design your own individual fundraising page. This is a wonderful way to
honor and celebrate a loved one.
Volunteer with Debbie's Dream Foundation. There are many ways to get involved with
DDF. Start volunteering today to make a difference for stomach cancer patients and their
families during this time of year!
Start a Chapter or Join an Existing Chapter. Our Chapters allow us to serve the needs
of stomach cancer patients, families, and caregivers across the world. Please contact
us if you are interested in starting a DDF Chapter or to inquire about a Chapter in your
area.
_______________________________________________________________________
Survivor Spotlight - Nelson Civello
Nelson Civello is a stage II stomach cancer survivor and an active member of
the Debbie's Dream Foundation family. Nelson serves as a PREP Mentor and
recently spoke on the Patient Panel at the 5th Annual Stomach Cancer
Education Symposium on April 18, 2015 in Fort Lauderdale. Nelson blogged
his journey in detail, so to read more about his journey and other stomach
cancer survivor stories, CLICK HERE.
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
6th Annual Dream Makers Gala
We celebrated the 6th anniversary of Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing
Stomach Cancer at our 6th Annual Gala. 600 registered attendees raised
over $300,000 and counting. The event started with a cocktail hour and an
amazing silent auction, which was then followed by dinner, awards, dancing,
and yummy dessert. Actress and TV host Giselle Blondet was the Master of
Ceremonies, and Dale McLean, host of the Miami Heat's HEATv, provided
the entertainment. David Kubiliun of Kubiliun & Associates, P.A. was the
event chair for the third year in a row assisted by Rosa Gross as the Auction
Chair. Award recipients included Ken Krasnow of CBRE; Stacy Ostrau of The Sun Sentinel; Mitch and
Blake Starr of Bienenfeld, Lasek & Starr, LLC; Alison Frank Chesney of Alison Frank Photography;
Edith P. Mitchell, MD, FACP of Thomas Jefferson University; and young philanthropists Rachel
Guttman and Zachary Guttman. CLICK HERE to make a donation toward the event and to find out
how to get involved. Save the date for our next Gala on April 9, 2016!!
Thank you to our Title Sponsor:
Photos from the Gala:
_______________________________________________________________________
Stomach Cancer Education Symposium
Debbie's Dream Foundation hosted its 5th Stomach Cancer Education Symposium for inperson attendees and via live webinar. Over 175 patients, families, caregivers, the general
public, and health care professionals attended for free. The lectures will be available
within the next few weeks and can be viewed by CLICKING HERE.
For more information on speakers and topics, or to make a donation, CLICK HERE.
Thank you to our Title Sponsor:
Photos from the Symposium:
_______________________________________________________________________
AACR Conference Attendance
Debbie's Dream attended the AACR Annual Meeting 2015 in
Philadelphia which highlighted the latest, most exciting
discoveries in every area of cancer research and provided a
unique opportunity for investigators from all over the world to
meet, interact, and share their insights. This year's meeting
theme - "Bringing Cancer Discoveries to Patients" - underscored
the vital and inextricable link between discovery and treatment,
and it reinforced the fact that research underpins all the progress
we are making in the field toward cancer cures.
Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer offered
$100,000 in research grants comprised of two $50,000 Young
Fellowship awards. Debbie's Dream works with the AACR on our
grants in order to uphold the high standards of review and to
assure the most advanced science. Our two $50,000 grants were
awarded this year to (1) Eirini Pectasides, MD, PhD from DanaFarber Cancer Institute to study "Enhancing the efficacy of ERBB2 inhibition in gastric
cancer" and to (2) Andrea Zamperone, PhD from Albert Einstein College of Medicine of
Yeshiva University to study the "Mechanisms of DNA damage signaling by Helicobacter
pylori." Both Dr. Pectasides and Dr. Zamperone are pictured with DDF Board Member Libia
Scheller.
_______________________________________________________________________
Debbie's Dream Girlz Team in the COLOR RUN!
On May 2, 2015, Sheri Albert, Stephanie Davis, and Dana
Zuckerman (pictured at right) ran for the DREAM of curing stomach
cancer! THE COLOR RUN took place in Fort Lauderdale at
Huizenga Park. They raised over $1,500 and counting! CLICK
HERE to make a donation in their honor.
_______________________________________________________________________
Robert V. Semenza 4th Annual Softball Tournament
On April 25, 2015, the Debbie's Dream Foundation Pennsylvania
Chapter held the 4th Annual Robert V. Semenza Softball
Tournament. The event was held at the Robert V. Semenza Softball
Field at Pagnotti Park, Old Forge, PA. The day included softball,
food & fun including the Wheelbarrow of Cheer and Hand Truck of
Beer. Thank you to organizer Marg Semenza and to all of the
participants, volunteers, donors, and supporters! To start your own
event in your area, contact [email protected] or (855) 475-1200(855) 4751200 FREE.
_______________________________________________________________________
Boston Marathon - Running for the DREAM
Skip Kimpel and Lindsay Dahlben (both pictured to the right) made their
way to Boston for the 2015 Boston Marathon to run for the DREAM on
April 20, 2015. Although their stories are different, their missions for
loved ones are the same. Skip ran in memory of Dr. Melissa De WittLarson, a former Dream Team, Symposium Committee, and Patient
Resource Education Program (PREP) member. Melissa was diagnosed
with Stage IV stomach cancer in August of 2010 and passed away on October 15, 2012 at the age of
42. Lindsay ran in honor of her sister Rachael Masri who was diagnosed with Stage IV stomach
cancer in 2013 and underwent a full gastrectomy. Rachael is currently living in Israel with her husband
and three small children. Skip and Lindsay's passion and dedication to raising awareness about
stomach cancer and to keeping the DREAM alive is inspirational, and we are so proud of their
accomplishments!
To donate to Skip's page in memory of Dr. Melissa De Witt-Larson, CLICK HERE.
To donate to Lindsay's page in honor of her sister Rachael Masri, CLICK HERE.
To raise awareness by registering, sponsoring, volunteering, or fundraising for our races and runs
across the country CLICK HERE or email [email protected]. To start your own team or run
in your area, contact [email protected] or (855) 475-1200 (855) 475-1200 FREE.
_______________________________________________________________________
Relay for Life - Western High School Club
Western High School's Debbie's Dream Club led by Brittany Gendler
represented Debbie's Dream Foundation at the Davie/Cooper City
Relay for Life on April 11, 2015! Thank you for raising awareness
and dreaming BIG with us. To start your own Debbie's Dream Club
at your school, host an event, or attend an event on behalf of DDF,
contact us at [email protected] or (855) 475-1200 (855) 475-1200 FREE.
_______________________________________________________________________
3rd Annual Advocacy Day
On March 4, 2015 Debbie's Dream advocates traveled from all over
the country and battled snow storm conditions to "storm" Capitol Hill to
advocate that Congress devote more federal resources to gastric
cancer research and to again include stomach cancer as one of the
cancers under the $50 million Department of Defense (DoD) Peer
Review Cancer Research Program (PRCRP.) Per cancer death,
stomach cancer receives the least amount of federal funding of any
cancer. Advocates fought hard for the inclusion of stomach cancer
with their compelling stories and data that stomach cancer is
connected to the service of our country's men and women in uniform. Inclusion of stomach cancer in
the PRCRP is a significant milestone that DDF accomplished through its advocacy efforts in 2014. If
you were not able to travel to DC due to the weather conditions, or any other reason, you can still get
involved. We need you to be the voice of those who are no longer with us. Our 2016 Advocacy Day is
already in its planning stages, so CLICK HERE to get involved in our advocacy efforts.
Thank you to our 2015 Title Sponsor:
_______________________________________________________________________
November
Curing Stomach Cancer Month
Friday, November 13, 2015
International Stomach Cancer Jeans Day
Friday, January 22, 2016
Miami Marathon & Half Marathon Kick-Off Party
Sunday, January 24, 2016
Miami Marathon & Half Marathon
_______________________________________________________________________
For more information about Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer, please visit
www.DebbiesDream.org or contact us at (855) 475-1200 (855) 475-1200 FREE or
[email protected].
To give to Debbie's Dream Foundation and help make a world of difference in stomach cancer,
please visit our Donate page.
_______________________________________________________________________
Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization
dedicated to raising awareness about stomach cancer, advancing funding for research, and
providing education and support internationally to patients, families, and caregivers.
DDF seeks as its ultimate goal to make the cure for stomach cancer a reality.
_______________________________________________________________________
A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE
DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE WITHIN THE STATE OF FLORIDA. REGISTRATION
DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE OF FLORIDA. THE TOLL
FREE NUMBER OF THE DEPARTMENT IS 1-800-HELP-FLA1-800-HELP-FLA FREE (435-7352) - CALLING FROM
WITHIN THE STATE OF FLORIDA, OR (850) 488-2221(850) 488-2221 - CALLING FROM OUTSIDE OF FLORIDA. THE
WEBSITE IS HTTP://WWW.FRESHFROMFLORIDA.COM WHICH CAN ALSO BE USED TO LOOK UP OFFICIAL
REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION.