News

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Thanks for Stepping Forward to Cure TSC!

Thanks to everyone who was able to support our Step Forward to Cure TSC walk this year! We raised ~$2000, more than twice last year and only $1000 short of our goal. But here’s the good news: our walk exceeded it’s $62,000 total goal!

You can still donate! It’s never too late.

#IAMTSC Ribbon Cutting

We were honored by the organizers to lead off the walk. Elsie cut the ribbon!

Thank you again for your time and efforts to further our cause. With your continued support we have seen amazing advances in research and are now witnessing current studies to identify biomarkers in infants with TSC that could ultimately lead to preventative treatments for autism and infantile spasms and positively change the future of children with these manifestations. These breakthroughs would not have been possible without you.

We are grateful you are helping us fund crucial research and important services for our community. Our quest is to find a cure for TSC—because we will give everything but up!

Support Clan Gillespie @ Step Forward to Cure TSC 2016

To make a donation online now, please visit our group page. 

On June 04, 2016, 10am @ Libertyville High School (708 West Park Avenue, Libertyville, IL 60048), Join Clan Gillespie and other individuals and families affected by TSC as we join together to increase awareness of tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) and share their stories of hope. Whether you are close to the disease or simply looking for an inspiring charity event, LIDS Step Forward to Cure TSC walkathon is a great way to experience the power of standing together and giving back to the community.

Join the excitement! You can register to walk with us, be an “angel” walker, or make donations securely on our group page. There is lunch provided, kids’ activities, TSC resources and much, much more! This year’s walk promotes super heroes across the country. Individuals, families, friends and supporters are all encouraged to participate dressed like their favorite hero, be it a cartoon character, doctor, teacher, sibling, parent, etc.- just come as you are! We urge you to become a Super Hero of the TS Alliance.

Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is a rare genetic disorder that causes tumors to form in vital organs; TSC is also the leading genetic cause of both autism and epilepsy. To learn more about tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) click here. With your help, we can be heroes to the 50,000 Americans with TSC as well as their caregivers and loved ones.

We choose to fight, not only for Ethan, Elsie, Naomi, and Esther, but for the 1 in 6,000 kids born with TSC every day…50,000 in the U.S…over 1 million worldwide.  Tuberous sclerosis complex, or TSC, is more common than Lou Gehrig’s disease and Cystic Fibrosis. There is no cure. Yet!

Ours is a story of determination. Our stunningly small group of parents and adults with TSC, through sheer will and passion, have brought this disease to the brink of a breakthrough.  We are joined in our fight by aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters, grandparents and friends, co-workers and colleagues. We’re asking you to join us in the fight to find a cure!  Please help support our family who has refused to give up and refused to take no for an answer, even when faced with the daily challenges of seizures, autism, ADHD, facial disfiguration, anxiety, behavioral problems, and other medical complications.

We’re making HUGE strides in finding a cure for TSC.  Here’s what we know now we didn’t know just two short years ago:  TSC is what’s called a “linchpin” disease. This simply means the genetic pathway involved in TSC is the same pathway affecting more than a dozen major diseases and disorders, including autism, epilepsy, cancer, and obesity.  We’ve got a long way to go, but recent clinical trials of a new drug actually show the symptoms of autism disappearing in mice. We’re in a race against time and our resources are strained beyond their limits!

Many, many thanks!

Christopher

To make a donation online now, please visit our group page.

You may send a donation instead. To ensure proper acknowledgement, please mail all donations as follows:

  • Checks. Check(s) should include: team name and/or walker name (either written on the memo section of the check or on a donation tracking form). To avoid stale-dated checks please mail payments within ten days of receipt. Checks that are not marked with a participant’s name will be credited as a team donation. Cash is prohibited so please obtain a money order or check.

The TS Alliance will properly receipt donors for gifts over $250 as defined by IRS regulations.

Please mail to:
Christopher Gillespie
8307 Sheffield Avenue
Dyer, IN 46311-2752
United States

Make checks payable to Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance or TS Alliance.

$1.1 Million Raised for TSC Research!

Last year many of you helped us raise funds for a Tuberous Sclerosis cure. You recall this is the disease that four of our children have, resulting in seizures and other disability. The TS Alliance has reported the funds raised and it’s good news!

Your participation in last year’s Step Forward to Cure TSC movement helped raise a record $1.1 million, proving a small but compassionate group of family, friends, co-workers and other supporters has the power to change the future for the thousands and thousands of people affected by tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) in the United States.

Please pat yourself on the back and take some time to reflect on what a huge accomplishment you made in 2015. What’s more, your donors would not have contributed if not for your compassion and drive to grow awareness of TSC.

Over the past 14 years, the TSC community, volunteers, corporate partners and advocates have helped raise more than $12 million through the LIDS Step Forward to Cure TSC walks. But we have so much more work to do and hope you’ll walk again in 2016 to make a difference, because we can’t do it without you.

Online registration is now open for the 2016 LIDS Step Forward to Cure TSC walk program.  We look forward to another successful year in the fight against tuberous sclerosis complex.

Deepest thanks,

Ginger Williams
Director of Special Events & Corporate Partnerships

Thanks for your support! Watch for information about this year’s event.