Over the past 5 years, we have been extremely blessed with Christi’s good health after being diagnosed with brain cancer. Five years ago, Dr. Gore at Providence hospital saved Christi’s life over the course of 3 brain surgeries. We decided to donate her tumor to the research at Providence, and it’s been used (along with many other tumors and lots of research) to help create a vaccine for brain cancer. It’s absolutely incredible work they’re doing there, and it’s excited to get updates about the research from time to time.

Just recently, we received a note from Providence that an anonymous couple has pledged to match all donations up to $1M as long as the donation is pledged (not paid) by May 20th. It only needs to be paid to Providence by Dec 31st, 2016. More info from the email that Shari Scales sent me last week:

As promised, I’m following up with the details about a generous Matching Gift Challenge offered to us. Between March 22 and May 20, they are matching $1 for $1 ALL gifts and pledges to our cancer programs. Pledges (written intentions to make a gift) can be fulfilled over time on a schedule that is convenient for our donors. Pledges simply need to be paid in full by December 31, 2016 to qualify for the match. This time period can give donors many options to consider, including, for example, making 3 year-end gifts, 6 half-yearly gifts, monthly gifts, on whatever schedule works.

The nice thing about this match is that it’s not an “all or nothing” deal. It’s truly one dollar raised, one dollar earned. That means, every gift counts no matter the size, and every gift DOUBLES no matter the size. I have attached information about the Challenge as well as a pledge form, and will mail all of these things to you as well, along with a couple of articles that I mentioned last night.

The research they’re doing at Providence is absolutely incredible. This vaccine essentially teaches your immune system to recognize cancer cells for what they are, dramatically increasing the effectiveness of other treatments and helping your body fight off the cancer itself. It’s extremely exciting stuff, and we’re honored to be a part.

If you’d like to make a donation, that’d be matched and doubled, you can download the PDF form here. If you’d like your donation to be earmarked specifically for the vaccine research, you can designate it to: “Drs. Bahjat, Crittenden, and Gore – Glioblastoma Multiforme Vaccine” on the form.

Challenge Donation Form