Beyond major holidays and birthdays, my favorite day of the year is the Team Fox MVP Awards dinner. Held to acknowledge Team Fox’s most active fundraisers, the event is an inspiration from start to finish.
We get to meet an extraordinary group of people who share our passion for finding a cure for Parkinson’s. Each year, I’m struck by people’s ingenuity and commitment to the cause. Most humbling is meeting the rock stars who themselves are living with Parkinson’s and are conducting extraordinary physical feats to raise money for Team Fox.
This year, the MVP awards were held on April 15 at beautiful Gotham Hall in Midtown Manhattan. Team Merrie Miles was well-represented, with Dad, Watt, Katie, Susanna, Renaat, Sam and myself all in attendance. Almost exactly a year after the London Marathon, the MVP was the perfect opportunity to reminisce about the race and, of course, remember Mom.
This year, the MVP included more than 500 fundraising superstars. In total, Team Fox members raised a staggering $11.5 million dollars for Parkinson’s Research in 2015. That’s definitely an amount worth celebrating!
Among the highlights of the evening was hearing from Michael J. Fox, who never fails to inspire us with his passion and vision.
The absolute peak of the evening for us was seeing Team Merrie Miles acknowledged as one of the top Team Fox fundraisers in 2015. It took my breath away to see our pictures up on the big screen with our fundraising total. 2015 was our first six-figure fundraising year, which is a tribute to all of the amazing supporters who backed us on this journey. I wish you could have been there with us to share the moment. It simply wouldn’t have happened without you.
The remainder of the evening and weekend were pretty special, as well. We went for a run in Central Park, took in Sleep No More, a highly memorable off-Broadway show, and ate our weight in moules and frites at a Belgian brasserie. What’s not to love!
We left the weekend determined to find a way to work for Team Fox in 2016. Stay tuned for future announcements.
Once again, thank you for your support of Team Merrie Miles and the Michael J. Fox Foundation. You inspire us to keep going with our fight for this very special cause.
Merrie Miles 