NEWS & EVENTS

It is the mission of The Olive Branch Fund: A Thisbe and Noah Scott Legacy to promote research, awareness, and support for families of all pediatric motor neuron diseases, including Brown-Vialetto-Van Laere.

A Mighty Voice 2008: The First Year

Jackson, Mississippi:

On June 13th, 2008, The Olive Branch Fund kicked off its very first A Mighty Voice fundraising event in Jackson, Mississippi. Despite the “hurricane-type” weather, nearly 400 people attended this dinner and silent art auction, raising over $110,000. Many thanks to our sponsors, artists, committee members, participants and venue hosts who not only made the event a success but also made it a beautiful evening.

Click on the images below to view all the event photos and corresponding media coverage.

Nashville, Tennessee:

On October 19th, 2008, Nashville, Tennessee, hosted the second A Mighty Voice event. With live music by Garrison Star, this family fun “Walk for a Cure,” featured Stu Grimson, a former Predators player, and Neil O’Donnell, former quarterback for the Titans, kicking off the walk with a fun “warm-up” geared toward the children. Approximately 300 people attended the walk at Centennial Park, raising nearly $60,000. Many thanks to our committee members, participants and sponsors, including FedEx, our Gold Sponsor.

Click on the images below to view all the event photos and corresponding media coverage.

Also on October 19th, the Nashville event’s “Angel Walkers” of Tunica, Mississippi, showed their support by walking from afar and raising over $1000.

Click on the image below to view the entire article of the Tunica Angel Walkers.

Phoenix, Arizona:

On November 2nd, 2008, Phoenix, Arizona, hosted the third and final A Mighty Voice event of the first year. Held at the Phoenix Zoo, this family fun “Walk for a Cure,” was kicked off with a “warm-up” by none other than the Phoenix Suns’ Gorilla. As the walk ensued, a video of Thisbe and Noah played at approximately the mid-way mark of the walk, at the Flamingo exhibit (Thisbe’s favorite spot). Many thanks to our sponsors, committee members and nearly 600 registered walkers for helping us to raise over $50,000 and for providing the perfect venue.

Click on the images below to view all the event photos and corresponding media coverage.

A Mighty Voice 2009: The Second Year

Memphis, Tennessee:

On May 2nd, 2009, Memphis, Tennessee, hosted the first A Mighty Voice event of 2009. Scheduled as a family fun “Walk for a Cure” at the Levitt Shell in Overton Park, the torrential rain may have abated musical entertainment and the walk but not the turnout. Many thanks to our sponsors, committee members and the nearly 250 people who braved the elements to raise approximately $30,000.

Click on the images below to view all the event photos and corresponding media coverage.

Richmond, Virginia

On Saturday, September 19th, 2009, Richmond, Virginia, hosted an event benefitting The Olive Branch Fund. In a neat little neighborhood venue called Lewis Ginter, a great ambiance lit the stage for Raizin Caine, a wonderful local band that played great renditions of 80s songs from The Cure, INXS and other classics to an audience of about 100. The A Mighty Voice banner with Thisbe and Noah’s pictures regaled the stage, and the event raised nearly $10,000. Many thanks to everyone who supported this new host city, including the Richmond committee, for making it a event-ful l evening.

To enlarge, click on the images below.

Nashville, TN

On Sunday, October 25th, 2009, Nashville, Tennessee, hosted its 2nd Annual "Family Fun Walk for a Cure.” Stu Grimson of the Predators kicked off the warm-up for the walk, which also featured live entertainment by Adam and the Couch Potatoes, as well as balloon animals, face painting and a nice family stroll through Centennial Park. Nearly 200 people showed up to support our cause, raising approximately $25,000. Many thanks to our sponsors, committee members and walkers for continuing to spread awareness and raising much-needed dollars for research.

Click on the images below to view all the event photos and corresponding media coverage.

A Mighty Voice 2010: The Third Year

Memphis, TN

Click on the images below to view all the event photos and corresponding media coverage.

Olive Branch Outreach:

Finding a treatment - a cure - is what looms most on the minds of parents of children with motor neuron diseases. As this is the primary funding aim of The Olive Branch Fund, we also continue to help families in need. From advocating for a communication device and speech pathology for a boy with BVVL in the United States, to sending copies of Thisbe's Promise (www.thisbespromise.com) throughout the nation and abroad to children suffering from motor neuron diseases and other illnesses. From arranging a meeting between an American neurologist and a Libyan family in Cairo to sending gifts to a beautiful little girl with SMA Type I, in the hopes of brightening her day. Every day brings the promise that we can make a difference in one child, one moment, one day, one disease, one world.

Research and Global Awareness:

• On March 4, 2010, history was made for BVVL and motor neuron diseases alike with the discovery of the first candidate BVVL gene, identified as C20orf54, published in the American Academy of Human Genetics journal. The Scott’s DNA contributed to the finding of this gene, along with at least 10 other participating families. Visit http://www.bvvlinternational.org/BVVL_Research_Highlights.html for more information.
• As a global push to raise awareness for BVVL, Thisbe and Noah’s cases were presented at a poster session at the International Child Neurology Congress in Cairo, Egypt, in the spring of 2010. John and Laurian Scott were in attendance at this conference on behalf of BVVL International to distribute informational materials and be available to answer questions alongside the presenting physicians, both of whom serve on the BVVL International Advisory Board: Dr. John Bodensteiner of the U.S. and Dr. Fathi Dakhil of Libya. Visit http://www.icnc2010.com for more details.

  

• Noah and Thisbe’s cases were presented in a poster session at the 2009 Annual Meeting for the Child Neurology Society in October – yet another venue for promoting awareness for this disease at a national level. Visit http://www.childneurologysociety.org for more details.
• In June 2009, a team of pathologists from Vanderbilt and Harvard presented Noah’s case at the annual meeting for the American Association of Neuropathologists, Inc., further aiding our endeavor to raise awareness for this lesser known counterpart of the motor neuron diseases.
• The founding of BVVL International:

  

  BVVL International was created in June 2008 as the medical-minded arm of The Olive Branch Fund. Through the BVVL International web site, at least ten new families affected by BVVL have been discovered. We believe this is a highly under-reported number of cases and are working to expand awareness of the disease to give all families an opportunity to participate in BVVL research. In 2009, BVVL International set up a secure BioBank through which DNA samples from affected individuals and their families are being collected and stored for the purpose of identifying the BVVL gene and developing a cure. Through the help of the Genetic Alliance, The Olive Branch Fund has secured a researcher at the NIH (National Institutes of Health) who is working on isolating the BVVL gene; this research is currently underway. Once the BVVL gene is found, the second phase of research can begin: developing the model of BVVL in order to test possible treatments that will hopefully prove beneficial for all motor neuron diseases.

• The Child Neurology Foundation made Thisbe and Noah their 2007 and 2008 poster children.

  Click on the images below to view the full version of the CNF posters.

CONTACT US

For more information on The Olive Branch Fund or to lend a hand to A Mighty Voice, please contact us at info@theolivebranchfund.org.