Children's Genetic Disease Research Partnership

Dedicated to Saving Children's Lives in CHASE COMMUNITY GIVING CHALLENGE

MIDDLETOWN, Ohio and DALE CITY, Va., Jan. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy together with Trisomy 18 Foundation are among 100 charities that earned a $25,000 grant during Round 1 of the Chase Community Giving Challenge on Facebook.    Now in Round 2, Chase Bank has given them the opportunity to compete for an additional $1 Million prize and five $100,000 prizes, to be decided by public vote from January 15-22, 2010.  Working together, these charities are advocating a novel approach to ask the Facebook public to support all charities with their votes that focus on saving children's lives through funding of genetic disease research.

(Logo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100119/DC39975LOGO )

Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy's Founding President and CEO Pat Furlong is thrilled to be part of this partnership. "As rare diseases, one of our biggest struggles as organizations is to raise awareness about our diseases. In the 16 years that PPMD has been fighting to end Duchenne muscular dystrophy, we, like the other members of this Partnership, have tried to reach as wide an audience as possible. This incredible contest provides us the largest awareness platform we have known and give us an opportunity to tell our families' stories. By uniting as a Partnership, we are showing the Facebook community the importance of collaboration in advancing genetic research.  Research that will save the lives of our children and our children's children. A victory for any of us is a victory for all of us."

"In the wake of the tragic earthquake in Haiti, we are all awakened to the fragility of life," commented Victoria Miller, Executive Director of the Trisomy 18 Foundation.  "The parents who are powering the activism in our Chase Campaign Partnership know this lesson and live it every day in battling for the lives of their children struggling against rare diseases.  Every day we work hard through these organizations for more funding for more research.  What unites us as Partners in this Chase Community Giving campaign is that we have a common need for more collaborative genetic research that accelerates the translation of science into treatments that will save all our children's lives.   And that takes awareness and activism and dollars and a bigger vision than one disease at a time.  The advances in any one disease can literally transform the science for us all, and that's why we know our causes are united. "

The Partnership has a simple goal -- to advocate for the funding of Children's Genetic Disease Research advanced through the Chase Community Giving contest.   All Facebook users have an incredible opportunity to use their 5 votes for 5 Children's Genetic Disease Research Charities in Round 2 of the Contest now through Midnight ET Friday evening, Jan 22nd.  

Those 5 charities are:

• Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy at http://www.parentprojectmd.org
• Trisomy 18 Foundation at http://www.trisomy18.org
• Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Network Cares at http://www.ehlersdanlosnetwork.org
• For Spinal Muscular Atrophy:  Gwendolyn Strong Foundation at http://gwendolynstrongfoundation.org
• For Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy: Darius Goes West http://www.dariusgoeswest.org

The public can also view a video about each charities "Big Idea" on Facebook at: http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving.

About Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Duchenne muscular dystrophy is the most common, lethal, genetic illness of childhood.  It is a progressive muscle disease that robs young men of the ability to walk, the ability move their arms, and their independence. Duchenne is 100% fatal.  

About PPMD

Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD) is a national not-for-profit organization founded in 1994 by parents of children with Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy.  The organization's mission is to improve the treatment, quality of life and long-term outlook for all individuals affected by Duchenne muscular dystrophy through research, advocacy, education and compassion.  PPMD is headquartered in Middletown, Ohio with offices in Fort Lee, New Jersey.  For more information about PPMD and Duchenne, visit www.parentprojectmd.org and see their Big Idea video on YouTube: http://bit.ly/PPMDChaseVideo.

About Trisomy 18

Trisomy 18 (T18) is a common and devastating chromosomal condition resulting in high rates of stillbirth and early infant death in the first weeks and months of life.  One out of every 3000 children is born with Trisomy 18. Double or triple that number are lost before birth in the late stages of pregnancy. Trisomy 18 can and does affect any family; the condition strikes families globally of all ethnicities, nationalities, and faiths.

About Trisomy 18 Foundation

The Trisomy 18 Foundation is the nation's leading health advocacy organization serving families impacted by a Trisomy 18 diagnosis for a much-wanted child, a genetic condition causing high rates of infant mortality in the first year of life. Headquartered in Washington, DC (Dale City, VA), the Foundation is dedicated to making Trisomy 18 a preventable and treatable condition for future generations and to improve health outcomes for children living with Trisomy 18.  To learn more about Trisomy 18 and the Trisomy 18 Foundation and how you can help visit: www.trisomy18.org and see their Big Idea YouTube Video:  http://www.youtube.com/trisomy18.  

SOURCE Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy