Participants sign in at the Walk to End Brain Tumors in downtown New Egypt. Organizers said more than 140 people raised $33,000 that will fund research into brain tumors. At right, survivor Frances Bogdone, left, of Beachwood, speaks with fellow survivor Steve Hatrok of Hamilton Township and his wife, Nancy, at the event. The fifth time was a charm for the annual Walk to End Brain Tumors in New Egypt, as organizers reported a surge in participation and donations at this year’s event.
On May 30, more than 140 people strolled along a 1-mile route through downtown New Egypt to raise funds for the nonprofit Musella Foundation for Brain Tumor Research and Information.
Organizers said 50 people attended last year’s walk, and they were pleased to see the increased participation.
Walk organizer and Plumsted resident Bruce Blount said the larger turnout translated to more than $33,000 in donations being raised. The 2014 event raised slightly more than $8,000, he said. “That caught me unaware. I was not expecting that,” Blount said. “We had more teams, and more teams equates to more money.”
PHOTOS BY FRANK GALIPO Blount, who is a 20-year survivor of a benign primary brain tumor, has promoted and planned the walk since 2010.
As in previous years, the New Egypt walk was one of several held throughout the state as part of a larger series of events across the country known as the Grey Ribbon Crusade.
Each event in the Grey Ribbon Crusade directly supports the Musella Foundation, which seeks to advance medical research into brain tumors and their potential cure.
Blount said he chose the foundation because of its pledge to commit 100 percent of collected proceeds toward finding a cure.
“They have a board of highly educated people who determine which research projects should be funded,” he said. “They do not have operating costs for their events since that is all covered by major corporations.”
Blount said additional support came from local groups and businesses, including Celldex Therapeutics, the Brad Kaminsky Foundation and the JFK Neuroscience Institute.
He said he is already looking to 2016 by planning a “bigger and better” event.
“We’ll just wait to see what happens,” Blount said.