Information provided by West Tennessee Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
The West Tennessee Chapter of JDRF is proud to announce that Evergreen Packaging will present the 12th Annual Promise Ball, “Voyage to a Cure,” on March 31, 2012. The Promise Ball is being chaired by Summer and Cecil Godman along with Honorary Chairman John Rooney, President and CEO of Evergreen Packaging. The black tie optional event will take place at the Hilton Memphis, and is expected to raise more than $300,000 for type 1 diabetes (T1D) research. The event features a cocktail reception, seated dinner, silent and live auctions, a unique Fund A Cure appeal and fabulous entertainment by Kallen Esperian and The Distraxshuns.
This year Milton Allen and Dr. Jerome Thompson will be honored at the event with the Living and Giving Award. Milton lives in Collierville and serves as the Vice President for Crop Protection Products and Seed for Helena Chemical Company. Milton has been committed to finding a cure for T1D since 1998 when his daughter faced the diagnosis at the age of 10. Jerome W. Thompson, MD, M.B.A., Chairman of University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Department of Otolaryngology, is a type 1 diabetic and currently resides in Germantown. He is Chief of Surgery at LeBonheur Children’s Medical Center and Chairman of Methodist Healthcare Otolaryngology Department.
At the Promise Ball there will be a moment after the Live Auction when the room is stilled and the story of promises unfold… we call it Fund A Cure. It is the opportunity to donate directly to research and fund the science that will change the lives of our family and friends with T1D. In honor of Cecil and Summer Godman, John Rooney, Milton Allen and Dr. Jerome Thompson, 100% of the proceeds from this year’s Fund A Cure will be applied to JDRF’s Immune Therapies research.
JDRF’s Immune Therapies research focuses on finding out how to stop the immune system attack that kills the insulin-producing beta cells and causes T1D. Scientists do not yet know what triggers this attack, but they think it could be a combination of genetic susceptibility and environmental factors.
JDRF is committed to delivering immune therapies to people at all stages of T1D. Your support of JDRF’s Immune Therapies research will help accelerate progress toward developing drugs and other therapies to stop and ultimately prevent the immune attack that causes T1D.
To purchase tickets or make a donation for the 2012 Promise Ball on March 31, 2012, please call 901-861-6550 or visit www.jdrf.org/PromiseBall.
About JDRF: JDRF is the leading global organization focused on type 1 diabetes (T1D) research. Driven by passionate, grassroots volunteers connected to children, adolescents, and adults with this disease, JDRF is now the largest charitable supporter of T1D research. The goal of JDRF research is to improve the lives of all people affected by T1D by accelerating progress on the most promising opportunities for curing, better treating, and preventing T1D. JDRF collaborates with a wide spectrum of partners who share this goal.
Since its founding in 1970, JDRF has awarded more than $1.6 billion to diabetes research. Past JDRF efforts have helped to significantly advance the care of people with this disease, and have expanded the critical scientific understanding of T1D. JDRF will not rest until T1D is fully conquered. More than 80 percent of JDRF’s expenditures directly support research and research-related education.
