Illuminate: Our First Benefit Evening

We are still reeling from all the love and support you all gave at Illuminate, our first banquet fundraiser to benefit Emily's Light Foundation on February 8, 2025. Our aim was to fill your tanks with hope, encouragement and fun, and you ended up filling ours the most! It would not have been the event it was without your presence. Thank you! And thank you to those of you supporting us from afar!

Board members Jerica Richardson, Clara Malson, and Chris Robbins

The Meinerding family: Founders Deb and Mark, sons Eric (his wife, Jenny) and Lucas, and daughter Rasika.

Thanks to you all, we reached our $10,000 matching gift goal! This will help us immensely to come alongside more families facing this unimaginable diagnosis with financial and spiritual support. A portion of your donations are also going to research foundations supporting doctors and researchers working tirelessly towards a cure. Emily's Light Foundation is now a ChadTough Defeat DIPG Foundation Research Partner and a couple of us will be attending their research workshop and gala in Ann Arbor, MI in May. Thank you for giving us this opportunity to interact with doctors on the front lines of defeating this tumor. We look forward to returning with research updates for you.

We are so incredibly grateful to The Marmalade Lily for the use of their beautiful facility! How you've blessed us! Special thanks also to Chris Cusentino and Bradley Meinerding for the awesome live music, Five Blessings Bakery for the scrumptious cookies, Christy McGuffey from Arthur Murray West Chester for the festive dance instruction, Sullivan's Family Foods Catering and All the Ingredients for the delicious banquet meal and charcuterie boards, and to Lucy Marsh for the beautiful photography.

I hope these photos give you a feel for the joy of the evening. Remember one of Em's favorite quotes from Steel Magnolias, "Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion." We sure did a lot of that!

Thank you again for all your love and support. Stay tuned for updates to come!

"He is still good!"