The Julian Boivin Courage for Cures Foundation would like to thank everyone who helped us make the 3rd Annual Brave Knight Benefit our most successful event yet!

More than 300 party-goers, sponsors, volunteers and donors helped us raise nearly $90,000 on Saturday, November 30, 2013 that will now directly fund several research projects underway at some of the country’s leading institutions working to find cures for the deadliest pediatric brain tumors like Julian’s brain stem glioma - also known as diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) - which currently has no known cause or cure.

Guests enjoyed a strolling supper, live entertainment, a silent auction and raffle prizes. The crowd listened to a moving speech by Julian’s father and event co-host Brad Boivin who then introduced our special guest Keith Desserich, Co-Founder and Chairman of The Cure Starts Now Foundation and Founding Partner of The DIPG Collaborative which brings together 46 worldwide chapters and peer-foundations including Courage for Cures to offer a focused strategy to pediatric brain cancer research - specifically DIPG.

Part of the foundation’s original mission was to “seek out and support the most progressive partnerships and research dedicated to finding cures.” Courage for Cures’ partnership with The Cure Stars Now Foundation and the DIPG Collaborative since 2012 has helped us answer that call. We are proud to be a member of The DIPG Collaborative which is responsible for one of the most promising collaborations of over 30+ leading institutions and researchers that has become not only a leader in the field of DIPG research, but serves today as a model for other cancer collaborations in both adult and pediatric cancers. The Collaborative’s research approach, which balances transparency, strengths and eliminates duplication, has resulted in a campaign that today is responsible for nearly 40% of all DIPG research to date.

Courage for Cures would like to thank our generous sponsors including Ameriprise Financial, CBS Interactive, Sotheby’s International, Goldfish Swim School and The Michigan Lottery. Many thanks also go to our wonderful in-kind sponsors including The Townsend Hotel, Chandon, Pink Elephant Cupcakes, Claudia O’Brien Photography and The Plant Station.