[bostoncure.org] Status since 2/17/04

[Art Mellor]

Boston Cure Project informal status since last reported on 2/17/04:

>>> Joining/Leaving Us This Month

o Dr. Manuel Lipson has joined our Board of Advisors, his bio can be
  seen here:
  http://www.bostoncure.org/about/people.php?section=6&id=57

o Lisa Sargeant has taken charge of the Scavenger Hunt for the second
  year in a row. Her bio can be seen here:
  http://www.bostoncure.org/about/people.php?section=3&id=56

>>> Cure Map

o We received word today that our tissue bank pilot protocol was
  approved on March 1st at the Beth Israel. This means we can begin
  negotiating a contract with them to start the collection!

o Work is continuing on the Phase 2 pathogens track of the Cure Map; a
  first pass of the MS literature on this topic is nearly complete.

o We updated the Phase 2 genetics spreadsheet and posted the new version
  to our web site.
  http://www.bostoncure.org/downloads/phase2-genetic-studies.xls

o We recently met with two major MS Pharma companies as part of our
  efforts to build an MS computer modeling consortium with our partner
  Entelos.

o Art and Hollie attended a talk on clinical pharmacology by Dr. Reynold
  Spector, former VP of R&D for Merck, given at Harvard Medical School

o Volunteer Belinda Vandervoort has continued pulling together a
  database of MS drug targets

o Art talked to David Thurman at the CDC about MS prevalance data
  collection and the problems that involves.

>>> Fundraising

o The January appeal has been a great success and our major gifts
  program with matching through the Water Cove Lead Matching Gift
  Challenge is at 56% of our goal of $75K.

o Help us reach our goal by making your pledge of $1,000 or more by
  July 1, 2004!
  http://www.bostoncure.org/about/contribute.php

o We submitted our proposal for inclusion in the 2004 Catalogue for
  Philanthropy, a prestigious and highly respected resource that is
  published and sent to more than 100,000 affluent families in
  Massachusetts.

o We were invited to send a proposal letter to the Clay Walker "Band
  Against MS Foundation" for possible funding and did so at the end of
  February.

o Our contract with Blue Sky Collaborative is in place and will allow us to 
  recruit and support a growing number of family funds and related 
  fundraising efforts. More details in a future email.

o We received our first check from Car Programs LLC for the auction of a 
  donated vehicle and are hoping other donors will take advantage of this 
  program in the coming year.
  http://www.bostoncure.org/about/vehicle.php

o We have been awarded a Google Grant, that provides us with 3 months
  of Google Ads off www.google.com

>>> Education

o Stephanie Sisto is compiling the UK MS Society 2003 research dollar
  information.  She is also normalizing the data for the NMSS, NIH and
  the UK MS Society so direct comparisons can be made. Analysis of the
  data is about to begin.

o Volunteer Jennifer Frashure has begun working with us to develop a
  research-oriented MS newsletter aimed at neurologists and other
  healthcare professionals

o We have entered into an agreement with the folks at
  www.centerwatch.com to provide some content on our web site
  regarding clinical trials in MS. We will announce when this is
  available. 

o Filled in the FAQ section on our web site.
  http://www.bostoncure.org/common/faq.php

o MSNews (http://msnews.bostoncure.org) continues to run daily updates
  on MS related items. If you come across anything MS related and new
  on the web, please submit it to our site. There is now a link to
  MSNews on our main menu at our web site.

>>> Community Building

o A few more T-shirt pictures are available:
  http://www.bostoncure.org/events/tshirt.php

o Art was one of four featured speakers at the Boston Women
  Communicators Have a Heart conference at the Lenox Hotel on February
  25 speaking about his experience in starting a nonprofit.

o Art presented at Babson College to a class of entrepreneuring students.

o Boston Cure Project received a plug at a recent UMass Executive
  Alumni Breakfast meeting at which Melissa and a handful of other
  UMass alum were recognized for their careers in the nonprofit
  sector.

o Melissa, Art, and Hollie met with Eric Soederberg, Senior Product Manager 
  at Deka Research in Manchester, NH and received a tour of the facility as 
  well as test drive of their amazing iBot wheelchair that can go up
  stairs and stand up.
  http://www.dekaresearch.com/ibot.html

o Art was interviewed and photographed for an upcoming issue of
  Technology Review, the MIT alum magazine. We will also be getting a
  mention in an upcoming Lucky magazine regarding the Scavenger Hunt.

o Meetings with people in the community:
  - We met with Berlex to discuss participating in local events they hold
  - Met with FitSense to talk about furthering the successful "Sense
    of Purpose" running program
    http://www.bostoncure.org/senseofpurpose/
  - Met with Julie Sussman and Macy DeLong of solutionsatwork.org to
    discuss nonprofits in general
  - Met with Julie Totten of familyaware.org to talk about fundraising
    ideas and techniques
  - Working with TripleHop on installing some powerful search engine
    software to aid in our review of the MS research online.

>>> Events

o The Improper Bostonian donated to Boston Cure Project, 100% of its door 
  charge proceeds from their Bachelor and Bachelorettes party held at Caprice 
  on February 18.

o The Hunt to Cure MS Scavenger Hunt will take place on Saturday, May
  22 at the Skellig in Waltham and the Skellig and Sun Life Financial
  Services have signed on as our first sponsors for the event.
  http://www.bostoncure.org/events/eventpages/20040522_hunt04.php

o The Tee off to Cure MS Golf Tournament will take place Monday, July 12 at 
  Charter Oak Country Club in Hudson, MA and sponsors already include Marsh & 
  McLennan and North Bridge Venture Partners.
  http://www.bostoncure.org/events/eventpages/20040712_golftourney.php

o We've been invited to set up table and hand out brochures at the upcoming 
  Teva patient marketing program featuring Clay Walker on Thursday May 6 at 
  the Westin in Waltham.

>>> Operations

o Our 2003 Annual Report is at the printers. A PDF is available here:
  http://www.bostoncure.org/downloads/bcp-annualreport-2003.pdf
  It will be mailed out to individuals giving $250 or more as soon as
  we get them.

o Our (slightly delayed) Winter Newsletter is also at the printers
  and will be mailed out in the coming weeks. The PDF is available
  here:
  http://www.bostoncure.org/downloads/bcp-update-vol0204.pdf

o Volunteer Dave Kaffine has been helping to create a relational
  database for tracking our donors and mailing lists and scripts to
  import to it from our current spreadsheet based system.

o Volunteer Roger Glovsky has helped us complete a contract and letter
  of intent with Blue Sky Collaborative.

o Jill McGaffigan has helped us locate some new office space. We're
  looking to move in a month or so to give us some more room to grow
  in. Details as we get thm.

>>> Volunteer Efforts that have been reported since last time

Clockwork Design Group- Annual Report, Newsletter
Jennifer Frashure- Neuro Newsletter
Theresa Hahn- Staff Party
Mark Halliday- Fundraising DVD
Dave Kaffine- Donor Database Project
Jill McGaffigan- Operations
Sue Mellor- Admin
Debbie Mellor- Scavenger Hunt
Joanne Minassian- Scavenger Hunt
Charlie Namias- Scavenger Hunt
Lisa Sargeant- Scavenger Hunt
Sabrina Sequeira- Scavenger Hunt
Stephanie Sisto- NMSS Research Spending Analysis
Amanda Song- Scavenger Hunt
Belinda Vandervoort- Scavenger Hunt, Pharma DB
Maria Yunis- Scavenger Hunt

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