[bostoncure.org] Status since last reported on 6/15/04

[Art Mellor]

Boston Cure Project informal status since last reported on 6/15/04:

Information on our other mailing lists is at the bottom of this message.

>>> Joining/Leaving Us This Month

o Mike Yashko, one of our supporters from Florida, has joined our
  Board of Advisors. We'll be posting a bio and picture for him as
  soon as we can.

o Our new tenants, Families for Depression Awareness, moved in to one
  of our offices and will be sharing office space with us going
  forward. You can learn more about them at:
  http://www.familyaware.org

o Diane Gaucher is contracting with us to help with the tissue
  bank. You can read more below.

>>> Cure Map

o The Tissue Bank continues to creep forward. We now have a signed
  contract with UMass Medical Center and so we will be moving on to
  the "staff training" phase in the coming weeks. After that we can
  begin. The Beth Isreal is moving a bit slower. We have a budget
  agreed upon, but are waiting for comments on the contract.

o Our interns Irene Rahman and Brian Keegan have developed draft
  frameworks for toxic and nutritional causes of disease and are now
  starting to write them up into papers.  We appreciate the help of
  those who have contributed advice and expertise, including our SAB
  member David Simon and MS researcher Tiona Todoruk from the
  University of Calgary.

o To help with the logistical and organizational aspects of our blood,
  tissue and data bank, we recently contracted with Diane Gaucher, who
  has worked for our tissue bank vendor Genomics Collaborative and has
  a great deal of experience in this area.  We are also fortunate to
  have two recent graduates from MIT's Leaders for Manufacturing
  program, Julia Chang and Dave Kuo, volunteering for us this summer.
  They are helping us analyze and optimize the process of collecting
  blood samples and data.

o Hollie spoke with Brenda Banwell, Director of the Pediatric MS
  Clinic at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, who is studying
  pediatric patients with initial MS symptoms to identify the factors
  that lead to confirmed MS.  Because this study has many similarities
  to our tissue bank project, we plan to share information about our
  approaches and look for ways to collaborate in the future.

o We've been able to meet with or otherwise touch base with several of
  our scientific advisors recently, including Doug Golenbock, Marie Filbin
  and Nancy Simonian.

o Hollie continues to work on analyzing the association between MS and
  the HLA genetic region for our collaboration with Duke University and
  the CDC. 

>>> Fundraising

o Our "Expansion Team" program, through which supporters start their
  own Boston Cure Project fundraising and awareness initiatives, is
  off to a great start with more than 30 people across the U.S. &
  Canada talking to us about starting initiatives in their hometowns.
  Call Melissa at 781/487-0011 or email melissa at bostoncure.org if
  you'd like to learn more.

o An appeal mailing has gone out to 1000 MIT alumni as a follow on to the 
  article written about Art in the university's "Technology Review" magazine.

o Our July appeal is going out to our mailing list in the next
  week. We only directly solicit from our database twice a year, and
  then only to people who haven't given in the past 9 months. 

o The Boston Cure Project has been chosen for inclusion in the 2004
  Massachusetts Catalogue for Philanthropy, a highly prestigious
  resource sent annually to 100,000 affluent families in Massachusetts
  to promote charitable giving.
  http://www.catalogueforphilanthropy.org

>>> Education

o Our booklet for the newly diagnosed, "So, You Have Multiple
  Sclerosis ... What's Next?" is now finalized and available on our
  web site for downloading, forwarding and printing.  Thanks to our
  brochure committee (Maggie Harling, Lisa Paine and Cynthia King),
  our graphic designers Clockwork Design Group, and everyone else who
  helped create this supportive and informative resource!
  http://www.bostoncure.org/downloads/bcp-ms-whatsnext.pdf

o Julie has pulled together our collected wisdom on moving a company
  in the document "How to Move Your Organization" that we have made
  available here:
  http://www.bostoncure.org/downloads/HowToMoveYourOrg.pdf

o Volunteer Jen Tobin is writing a paper on neuro-anatomy to explain
  what all those things like oligodendricytes are that you keep
  reading about.

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. 

>>> Community Building

o We had lots of meetings and phone calls with people
  - Brad Saul of Matrix Media about getting a radio presence somewhere
  - Olin College biz dev folks re: working with their students on projects
  - Jamie Heywood of als.net re: general approaches to curing disease
  - John Packowski of the Kellie Packowski Foundation
  - Augusto Odone of the Myelin Project
  - Offered our educational documents to NMSS, MSAA, and MSF if they
    would like them.

o As usual, a few more T-shirt pictures are available:
  http://www.bostoncure.org/events/tshirt.php

>>> Events

o Thanks to Director Jacqui McCoy, her husband Mark Aher, and the many
  others who took part, our 2nd annual "Tee Off to Cure MS" Golf
  Tournament was a great success, taking place at Charter Oak Country
  Club on 7/12 and raising more than $18K in profits. Pictures and
  details here:
  http://www.bostoncure.org/events/eventpages/20040712_golftourney.php#Start

o Boston Cure Project hosted an "Open House" at its new offices in
  Prospect Hill and was excited to receive a visit from Carol Lederman
  of Congressman Edward J. Markey's office.  Thanks to everyone who
  stopped by to say hello. Pictures and details here:
  http://www.bostoncure.org/events/eventpages/20040715_openhouse.php

o Our Fourth Annual Boston Cure Party is scheduled to take place
  Saturday evening, November 20 at the MIT Faculty Club in Cambridge,
  MA and will feature guest speakers (a big name in the works) as well
  as a special "in-person annual report" by co-founders Art Mellor and
  Dr. Timothy Vartanian.

>>> Operations

o Our audited financials for 2003 are now available:
  http://www.bostoncure.org/downloads/bcp-audit-2003.pdf

o After a rather long struggle, our DSL line is finally fixed!

o We have continued working with David Kaffine and Joan Coyne to set
  up a new tracking database for our contributions and supporters.

o The Spring/Summer Newsletter is finished and has been sent off to
  the graphic designers.  It should be in the mail in 2-3 weeks.
  In the meantime, you can see the PDF version here:
  http://www.bostoncure.org/downloads/bcp-update-vol0301-02.pdf
  
>>> Volunteer Efforts that have been reported since last time

*** June-July Volunteers

* 2004 Cuts for a Cure:
  Janelle Hamilton

* Administrative Assistant:
  Sue Mellor

* Analysis of research spending dollars for MS organizations:
  Stephanie Sisto

* BCP Concert:
  Marion Carroll

* Donor Database Project:
  David Kaffine
  Joan Coyne

* Genetic Spreadsheet
  Susan Jones

* Golf 2004:
  Deborah Kearney
  Jacqui McCoy
  Mark Aher

* Labyrinth
  Lisa Desautels
  Jill Tagliaferri

* LDN Project
  Robert Lester

* Marketing/PR Advice:
  Gabe D'Anunzio
  David Hirschberg

* MIT Appeal:
  Brian Mellor
  Anna Peabody
  Stephanie Sisto

* MS Social
  Rosalind Joffe
  Gail Martino

* Neurology Newsletter:
  Jennifer Frashure

* Neuroanatomy Paper
  Jennifer Tobin

* Newly Diagnosed Booklet
  Maggie Harling
  Cynthia King
  Lisa Paine

* Newsletter
  Barbara Morgenlender
  David Morgenlender
  Carol Rose
  Lisa Sargeant

* Rita Glaze Mailing
  Brian Mellor

* Scavenger Hunt
  Lisa Sargeant

* Tissue Bank Flow Chart and Metrics
  Julia Chang
  David Kuo

* Donated Goods and Services
  A. Russo & Sons
  Avery Dennison
  Belinda Vandervoort
  Boston Beer Company
  Boston Red Sox
  Boston Sports Club
  Brian Gildenberg
  Carambola
  City of Waltham
  Clock Tower Law Group
  Clockwork Design Group, Inc.
  The Comedy Connection
  Crunch Fitness
  Gail Martino
  Jake & Earl's Dixie BBQ
  Jennifer Kulm
  Jillian's Boston
  Kameleon Healing
  Kate Duffin
  Maria Yunis
  Mayor Jeannette McCarthy
  Neil Faulkner
  Professional Staffing Group
  Roger Glovsky
  Ronald & Mary Ann Balczon
  Six Flags New England
  Solea Restaurant & Tapas Bar
  Susan Rowe
  Taylor Imaging
  The Skellig
  Tuscan Grill

================================================================
Remember, you can also receive our other mailings
Sign up at http://www.bostoncure.org/about/joinemail.php
 - bcp-announce: for important announcements as they happen
 - bcp-volunteer: periodic announcements for volunteer opportunities
 - Quarterly print newsletter