A NIGHT OF COOL COMEDY, HOT CUISINE, AND FUNDRAISING FOR SCLERODERMA RESEARCH FOUNDATION

By Ed Magik

Beverly Hills, California, USA

Bob Saget, Bill Bellamy, Dana Delany, Alan Thicke, Scott Bakula were just some of the many celebrities that came out to support a fun night of fundraising for Scleroderma Research Foundation (SRF) held on May 25, 2010 at the Four Seasons Beverly Wilshire Hotel, Beverly Hills, California.

A flavorful Mexican-style dinner of ceviche, sweet corn tamales, and baked chicken was served to active auction participants who bid tens of thousands of dollars on travel packages to Wimbledon 2011, a week in Napa Valley, and a variety of other wonderful adventures during a live auction using fancy electronic hand-held devices located at each table.

Comedians Bill Bellamy and Sarah Silverman kept the crowd in a cheerful, laughing mood.

Scleroderma is a very unpredictable and debilitating disease that disproportionately affects women between the ages of 20 and 50, but can affect men and children also of all ages and across all ethnic boundaries.  The disease has no cure and cannot currently be prevented.   It is a chronic life-threatening disease known for damaging the blood vessels and internal organs as well as the skin.

SRF seeks to raise funds for research into prevention, cure, or at least slowing the progress of the disease in patients diagnosed with it.  To date, SRF has raised more than $28,000,000 in order to fund research at respected medical institutions including Dartmouth, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, and Stanford.

Dr. Fredrick Wigley, Director of  Johns Hopkins Scleroderma Center in Baltimore, Maryland gave a speech on the challenges Scleroderma patients face as well as the vital role medical research plays in discovering new treatments for the disease.

For more information, call (800) 441-CURE or visit www.sclerodermaRESEARCH.org.

Video interviews of some of the celebrities in attendance of the event appear on www.edmagiktv.com.    Each year, ED MAGIK TV covers numerous fundraisers for various children’s and homeless charities, disease research, and anti-gang, anti-violence, and drug rehabilitation programs.