Hello StacheStrong Fam!
It’s been a bit since we got a newsletter out and there’s a lot to update everyone on. As I was reading through our past newsletters, it’s always amazing to see the continual growth. You may have heard it on a national interview, a local commercial or even one of several podcasts and news articles, but we are officially a $1,000,000 organization ($1,250,000+ to be exact!!!) I say it time and time again, but I remember when we raised our first $10,000 and the excitement that I shared with my brother for what we were doing. We knew this had the potential to be a leading organization in this space, we just didn’t realize it would happen in just over 3 years. This is only possible because of YOUR support and we’re humbled to be able to take such a difficult experience and turn it into hope for a better tomorrow. If you only have a brief moment, make sure to register for the upcoming 5K Run/Walk!!!
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Research Funded
We’ll update you on all the awesome events and happenings below, but what matters most is where this money is going and the good that it is doing in advancing brain cancer research. Since our last newsletter, we’ve funded several grants to highly rated and promising areas.
1) Northwestern: We funded $50,000 to provide 1 year of research by Dr. Brandyn Castro on developing a patient derived B-cell-based vaccine.
2) UMiami: We funded $50,000 to provide 1 year of research by Dr. Daniel Eichberg on investigating the role of CD97/ADGRE5 receptor in glioblastoma invasion and its mechanism of action in the brain.
3) UCSF: We funded $50,000 to provide 1 year of research by Dr. Jacob Young on in vivo gene screening and transcriptome editing with retroviral-delivered CRISPR-Cas for the treatment of glioblastoma.
4) Yale: We funded $100,000 towards a $1,000,000 gift from the National Brain Tumor Society to launch the targeting DNA damage response in glioma (TDG) consortium. This is a collaboration of world-class researchers advancing an emerging and promising, but underdeveloped, area of cancer research. TDG has the ability to propel an entirely new class of treatments forward for both adults and children with multiple types of malignant brain tumors.
5) Glioma Connectome Project (GCP): This is currently in progress, but we have sent out grant proposals to 11 top tier academic research centers (Henry Ford, Mayo Clinic, MD Anderson, Memorial Hermann, Mount Sinai NYC, Nebraska, Northwestern, Stanford, UCLA, UMiami and UPenn) to fund and launch the GCP. This project aims to utilize information about how the brain is organized (connectomics) and how it relates to the patient’s experience (neuropsych tests, documented deficits, etc.) from before AND after glioma surgery. Machine learning techniques aid in the study about how the brain lives with a tumor and reorganizes during treatment, as well as recurrence, to increase fundamental understanding of the brain and how to provide better care for brain tumor patients.
These are tangible results to remind you why every dollar matters. It’s why your support is crucial. I can’t promise what tomorrow holds, but I can promise that StacheStrong will continue to push the envelope and fund cutting edge research in the hope of a world without brain cancer.
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May is a powerful month in our community as it’s national Brain Tumor Awareness Month, which means we are able to put this dire disease at the forefront. Every day throughout the month of May, we highlighted a different person and family that have been impacted by GBM. This disease affects 13,000 people annually and we feel humbled and blessed to be able to provide a platform for those who have gone through it. We invite you to visit our social media channels and read stories from those from New York to Florida to California to Washington and even to Israel and beyond. If you’ve ever watched a loved one go through this diagnosis, every day is ‘brain tumor awareness day’, but for those that haven’t, this is a raw and emotional look into the disease that ultimately claims 10,000 lives every year. Our social media channels were able to reach over 125,000 different people throughout #BTAM, which is exactly what we set out to do when we started StacheStrong. Thank you to all those who shared their story throughout the month.
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4th Annual 5K Run/Walk
We are excited to host the 4th Annual StacheStrong 5K Run/Walk as a VIRTUAL AND IN PERSON (Vestal, NY) race during the weekend of September 18, 2021. Last year’s virtual race had 1,114 participants in all 50 states and we’re excited to continue to grow as we run/walk to raise awareness and funds for brain cancer research. You can complete the virtual run in your respective city and state at ANY TIME during that weekend and we will also hold the in person race in our hometown of Vestal, NY at the Vestal High School at 3:00pm on Saturday, September 18th. This is of extra significance for our family, because this is where GJ developed his love for running as a standout cross country and track runner for his beloved Golden Bears.
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#BrewStacheStrong
Where to begin…the craft beer community has been nothing short of incredible throughout the #BrewStacheStrong campaign. We ended up partnering with 205 breweries in 37 states, which accounted for nearly 300,000 pints being brewed. Having this many breweries participate is humbling and beyond promising, especially given the everchanging protocols the last several months as they geared up for this collab. We’re expecting to raise over $250,000 and are grateful to everyone who was involved and partnered with our organization in making #BrewStacheStrong one of the largest beer collabs in the country!
We’re already gearing up for next year’s annual #BrewStacheStrong campaign so if you have a brewery in mind that wasn’t able to participate this year, let us know and we’ll include them on our save the date email. This has the ability to make a profound impact for years to come!
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As we continue to grow, it’s moments like these that truly help us reach the next level of awareness. I was able to sit down with Meghan McCain for an interview to talk about GJ’s diagnosis, the birth of StacheStrong, reaching $1,000,000 raised as an organization, our unfortunate connection of losing a loved one to GBM and everything in between. We are so grateful to Meghan, ABC’s, The View, and all those who were instrumental in making this happen. Special thanks to Jamie, Rick, Molly K and Molly B for their time and dedication. Also a big thank you to David Wright and the New York Mets for a moment I’ll never forget; I’m sure Geej was smiling ear to ear and together we ARE making a difference!
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Meghan McCain interview on ABC’s, The View
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We are excited to get back to some of our established events as restrictions are lifted. Our NYC fundraiser is our flagship and was the first ever event that launched StacheStrong in 2018. Our dedicated committee invites you to save the date for October 22nd from 7:00 – 11:00 pm. This year’s event will take place at Legends on W 33rd street (5 minute walk from Penn Station). As it currently stands, capacity will be 300 people so once tickets are sold out, they’re gone! We will update you as we learn more, but will adhere to any existing regulations. Additionally, if you, your company or someone you know would like to sponsor the NYC event or donate any items/experiences for raffle to raise additional funds, please let us know.
REGISTER TODAY!!!
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Whether you’re a new follower or have been here for some time, you’ve probably noticed the awesome daily content and posts highlighting all 205 participating #BrewStacheStrong breweries, as well as the revamped 5k and NYC Event flyers. We’ve been working hard behind the scenes with our 2 outstanding interns, as a part of an internship program with The University at Albany. Rachel and Zach stood out when applying for this internship, and they’ve continued to exceed expectations through their hard work, creative design and commitment to our purpose. The University created this unique and impactful opportunity by providing credits towards their education. They had such a wonderful semester experience that they have decided to stay involved as interns going forward to help with our content creation. We couldn’t do this without them and can’t thank them enough. It truly takes a village!
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The TCS NYC Marathon is BACK this year on Sunday, November 7th. We have been accepted as a Community Sponsor and have been allocated 10 bibs for this year’s race, which will be the 50th Anniversary of the event. We have already begun accepting applications and the deadline to apply is Monday, June 21st. If interested, please answer the below questions and email to StacheStrong@gmail.com to be considered.
Application Requirements – Please answer the following 4 questions by June 21st, 2021 for consideration. Please note the $3,500 minimum raised amount as part of our contract:
1) What does StacheStrong mean to you and how do you #LiveStacheStrong?
2) Why are you personally running?
3) What are your plans for promoting your involvement with StacheStrong to raise the $3,500 NYC Marathon minimum? (Include any social media presence, affiliation groups, etc.) GET CREATIVE!
4) Provide photos to be used on personal fundraising page and StacheStrong media.
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While StacheStrong’s mission is still to raise money for brain cancer research, we know the importance of celebrating life. Research allowed GJ to live 25 months after his diagnosis, doubling the statistics for his longevity. During that time, we were fortunate enough to have countless days enjoying life during his fight, and StacheStrong will be honoring his legacy by providing a game day experience to his favorite teams. COVID had other plans, but as we originally mentioned in GJ’s obituary, we’re excited to launch the ‘Live Like GJ Initiative’ and give the gift of “GJ smiles” to a family going through GBM treatments.
Our family enjoyed trips, sporting events, concerts and memorable times together and NONE of this would have been possible without his zest for life and positivity. We also were fortunate enough to have a strong family unit that made it a priority to enjoy every waking second together. During the 25 months he battled GBM, we were able to experience more together than most do in a lifetime.
GJ adored the NY Mets, NY Jets and UNC Tar Heels so we will ensure another family battling GBM can be selected to receive tickets to watch one of GJs favorite teams. At this time, we are accepting nominations for New York Mets game tickets! If you would like to nominate yourself or a family going through GBM, please nominate here.
For corporate sponsorships and partnerships – please contact us!
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We are pleased to let you know that we have a devoted committee focused on launching a StacheStrong golf tournament in the Summer of 2022 within the metro New York area! Stay tuned for more details and please reach out to us if you or anyone you know would be interested in being a sponsor for the inaugural golf event!
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The past few months have been a tremendous opportunity for us to spread our mission to new audiences. If you’d like, give any of the following links a listen/watch! Additionally, please keep us in mind for any news segments, podcasts or the like as we aim to ensure more is done in the fight against brain cancer.
UnCapped Podcast
The Beer Mighty Things Podcast
Grey Matters Podcast
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A special thanks to Nick at WBNG for building this pro bono PSA commercial
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Every November, people around the globe grow out their facial hair to participate in the phenomenon known as Movember or No Shave November. StacheStrong invites you to participate with us during November by letting your mustache grow wild as we aim to further spread our mission to combat the deadliest brain cancer. Make GBM awareness the reason behind why you’re growing out your mustache, because we’ve learned first-hand how difficult it is for a lot of people to talk about brain cancer. Patients and their families feel isolated during what is seemingly an insurmountable uphill battle. Let’s start the conversation today, one ‘Stache at a time! If interested in participating and raising funds and awareness for our mission, please let us know. New this year – you will be able to create and design your own fundraising page on our site to join the cause!
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Amazon Prime Day
Did you know that you can raise money for StacheStrong just by shopping as you already do on Amazon?! Follow the below steps on your phone/computer to add StacheStrong as your benefitting charity and Amazon will donate a portion of all your future purchases to our mission! Amazon Prime Day is coming up on June 21st so make sure to do this before.
Get the app
Download or update to the latest version of the Amazon Shopping app on your phone. You can find it in the App Store for iOS or Google Play for Android.
Join AmazonSmile
If you are not already an AmazonSmile member, simply sign up at smile.amazon.com and select your favorite charity to start generating donations, at no cost to you.
Turn on AmazonSmile
Open the app and find ’Settings’ in the main menu (☰). Tap on ‘AmazonSmile’ and follow the on-screen instructions to turn on AmazonSmile on your phone.
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My Papa used to say “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” While I normally couldn’t agree more, last week was certainly a day I ‘cried because it was over’ when Ed let me know that his beloved Jess Morris had succumbed to GBM after a valiant 5+ year battle. You see, Jess was the FIRST person I ever met with GBM besides my brother. I remember taking a picture of her and GJ in September 2018 at the Biden Cancer Summit – both donning infectious smiles – fully spread from ear to ear.
They were handed an incurable diagnosis and absolutely devoted themselves to flipping the script on this disease. Jess and I grew close over the past 3 years and joined arms in the fight against GBM. We’ve shared laughs, tears, a few glasses of red wine and plenty of speaking engagements and key notes together. She was invincible to me and I’ll forever value our friendship.
She founded Our Brain Bank, an interactive app that is focused on gathering data to improve knowledge and treatment options, all while fighting GBM. 10,000 people die every year from GBM and we’ll continue to push the envelope to change that, but losing Jess hit me hard. All the while, I had to remind myself of exactly what she would want. Get up, dust yourself off, and fight this beast. Fight this beast we will. Rest in peace, Jess.
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Thank You to our Supporters!
We truly can’t thank everyone enough for their support and generosity over the past 3+ years. Raising over $1,250,000 for brain cancer research is truly amazing and we can’t put into words the profound impact that each of you have had in our fight against GBM. It means the world to us, but more importantly, to all those hoping for a cure.
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