(PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Sept. 29, 2015 ) − –In one night, The Bee Foundation raised over $150,000 for Life-Saving Brain Aneurysm Research at its 2nd Annual Honey Bash Gala. It was a night to remember and just one of the many awareness and fund-raising initiatives the Bee Foundation is launching across the nation and national media.
SAVING LIVES
An estimated 6 million people in the United States have an unruptured brain aneurysm, or 1 in 50 people.
The annual rate of rupture is approximately 8 per 100,000 people or about 30,000 people in the United States suffer a ruptured brain aneurysm. There is a brain aneurysm rupturing every 18 minutes.
The Bee Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to raising awareness and reducing the number of deaths caused by brain aneurysms through innovative research, welcomed a capacity crowd at its second annual major fund-raiser, the Honey Bash Gala, on Sept. 19, 2015 at the Philadelphia, PA. Independence Seaport Museum.
The event featured leading brain aneurysm advocates, experts , national sponsors, research grant award winners, and guest speakers.
GUEST SPEAKERS
Guest speakers included Dr. Shazam Hussain, Head of the Cleveland Clinic Stroke Program and a member of the Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Board, who spoke to the packed audience about the need for brain aneurysm research and innovations in stoke treatment. Additional members of the Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Board were also attendance, including Dr. Michael Chen, Associate Professor in the Department of Neurological Surgery at Rush University Medical Center.
RESEARCH AWARD WINNER
The Bee Foundation also recognized Dr. Aichi Chien, Ph.D., from the Division of Interventional Neuroradiology at UCLA, and the recipient of the Foundation’s first $50,000 research grant.
GUEST OF HONOR
Also speaking was special guest Todd Crawford, husband of Lisa Colagrossi, a NYC WABC Eyewitness News reporter who died in March, 2015 from a ruptured brain aneurysm.
THE MOVEMENT
“Our second annual Honey Bash more than exceeded our expectations,” said Foundation CFO Erin Kreszl. “We’re looking forward to putting the funds raised toward our second annual research grant and advancing the cause of brain aneurysm research.” Kreszl, along with her sister and foundation Executive Director Christine Kondra, inspired by their cousin, Jennifer Sedney. Sedney died on December 25, 2013, at the age of 27, from a ruptured brain aneurysm.
SPONSORS
The Philadelphia Eagles, along with Vynamic, National Benefit Partners, Combined Insurance, and Cisco Brewers and the others!) were major sponsors of the event.
About The Bee Foundation
To find out more about brain aneurysms and the work of The Bee Foundation, as well as how to support the foundation with a tax deductible contribution, visit the Foundation’s website or contact info@thebeefoundation.org.
Information on the Foundation can be found at www.thebeefoundation.org, or on the Foundation’s Facebook page and Twitter.
