More Than $1 Million Raised For Pediatric Brain Tumor Research

SANDY SPRING, GA -- The 9th annual Ian's Friends Foundation Evening of Inspiration brought in more than $1 million for pediatric brain tumor research.

The Nov. 5 fundraiser brought together donors, doctors and researchers in their quest to learn more about the condition.

The 2016 event held by the Sandy Springs-based organization raised over $1.1 million through ticket sales, auction items, and sponsorships. Proceeds from this year’s event will support ground-breaking, pediatric brain tumor research projects, including the Ian’s Friends Foundation Brain Tumor Biorepository at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

This recently expanded biorepository provides the technology to grow and store cancer cells for use in critical brain tumor research. Other IFF-funded projects have made numerous strides towards a cure, from investigating the genetic composition of brain tumors to allow for easier diagnosis and targeted treatments, to developing revolutionary new methods of treatment that are now being used in clinical trials.

“We won’t stop until there’s a cure,” said Phil Yagoda, co-founder of Ian’s Friends Foundation and father of Ian, who was diagnosed with a pediatric brain tumor 10 years ago at the age of two. “We are solely focused on funding the best and brightest doctors and researchers around the country that share our passion for eradicating pediatric brain tumors. Our amazing community of supporters is the power behind so many ground-breaking projects.”

Today, there are more than 40,000 children in the U.S. living with brain and spinal cord tumors. Brain tumors are the most common form of cancer for children under the age of 14 and are the largest cause of childhood-cancer related deaths. Approximately 2,200 children in the U.S. are diagnosed with a brain tumor each year.

This year’s event also honored Billi and Bernie Marcus for their unwavering support of Ian’s Friends Foundation. Businessman and philanthropist Bernie Marcus is best known as the co-founder of Home Depot.

Together with his wife, Billi, they founded The Marcus Foundation which operates exclusively for charitable, educational, and religious purposes.

For more information about Ian’s Friends Foundation, visit its website or contact Executive Director Amy Kane at (404) 966-0752 or amy@iansfriendsfoundation.com.

Image via Ian's Friends Foundation