More importantly, WHY are we doing this?

Patrick Conley, to whom this auction is dedicated.

The organizers of Date for the Cure are participants in Team in Training (TNT), the world’s largest endurance sports training program, we’re part of marathon and triathlon teams that raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). In exchange for race training and support, we raise money to find cures for blood cancers like leukemia (the number one disease killer of children), lymphoma and myeloma.

How serious is blood cancer? Every five minutes, someone in the United States is diagnosed with leukemia, Hodgkin or non-Hodgkin lymphoma or myeloma. Every nine minutes, someone dies of a blood cancer. Grants from the LLS  support scientific projects and clinical trials. The approval of Gleevec, a drug treating chronic myelogenous leukemia, was made possible by a clinical trial funded in part by LLS. Additionally, LLS supports patients and their families by providing support groups, assistance with travel and treatment costs, and educational programs.

This auction is dedicated to the memory of co-organizer Rachel Ford’s stepbrother, Patrick, who passed away at the age of 29 in July 2009 from acute myelogenous leukemia.