The 33rd annual Race to Erase MS gala brought together celebrities, advocates and people living with multiple sclerosis, all united behind a single goal of raising awareness and money to fight the disease. Held in Century City, the Friday night event paired a red carpet, fashion and dinner with a cause that, for many in the room, is deeply personal. For all the star power on display, the focus never strayed far from the people the night was meant to help.
Multiple sclerosis attacks the central nervous system and affects nearly 1 million Americans. Among them is Nancy Davis, who founded Race to Erase MS after her own diagnosis with the disease. It remains one of the most challenging neurological conditions, and the evening was built around the search for better treatments and, ultimately, a cure.
Davis recalled how frightening her diagnosis was at the time. When I was first diagnosed it was terrifying, she said, describing a moment when there was no known cause, no cure, no drugs on the market and very little hope that there ever would be anything. That sense of helplessness, she suggested, became the driving force behind the organization she would go on to build.
Since 1993, Race to Erase MS has raised more than 58 million dollars. That money has helped fund more than two dozen therapies approved by the Food and Drug Administration, a tangible result supporters point to as proof the effort is working. The more money we raise, the more studies we can find, and the more likely we are going to find more of a cure, Davis said, adding that the organization returns to the cause every year because it has to.
Among those honored on Friday night was Naomi Bolchnikoff, an executive with Disney Entertainment Television, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis herself. She received the organization's Medal of Hope for helping change the conversation around the disease. Her willingness to speak openly about her experience, supporters said, has given others facing the same diagnosis a sense that they are not alone.
For those in attendance, the evening was about far more than fundraising. What it means to support someone like Naomi and a cause like this is that there is an opportunity for people to rally around each other and show that resiliency and tenacity mean everything, one supporter said. Others described the relief of learning, after a relative's recent diagnosis, that the condition is now very treatable, an outcome they credited directly to events like this one.