Splash for a Cure: Family Fun for a Cause in Charlottesville, VA

Charlottesville Couple Honor Son with First Annual Fundraiser for the Ishan Gala Foundation, Raising Money to Fight Deadly Childhood Cancer, Neuroblastoma

Charlottesville, VA, August 15, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Say goodbye to summer with slip sliding fun, live music by Alex Mejias, great food and fabulous prizes at the first ever Splash for a Cure event at the ACAC Waterpark on August 29 from 5-9 PM. You can also play an important role in the battle against Neuroblastoma, one of the deadliest childhood cancers in the world today.

Splash for a Cure is inspired by Ishan Gala, a courageous inspiration who was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma at the age of one and a half. He passed away in early September 2008 at the age of two after battling hard against the disease for eight months.

“As any parent who has lost a child at an early age will tell you that they want to create a legacy for their child,” said Mayank Gala, who created the non-profit foundation with his wife Sejal. “It is particularly important to us that this first event be about joy, as that was the quality he represented to all of us who knew and loved him. For us, an important part of remembering Ishan is celebrating the joy all children deserve. It is our greatest hope that funding the research our organization will fund will bring joy to these children and prevent parents from having to hear the words we did: ‘There is nothing else we can do for your child.’”

The event will feature music, raffle prizes, an array of food, and access to the family-friendly waterpark which includes two fun waterslides, beach entry pools, tumble buckets, spray garden and Olympic size pool, great for all ages.

Splash for a Cure event tickets are $15 per adult and $10 per child above the age of two. Event tickets are available online at www.ishangala.org/event or http://cville.acac.com/. Raffle tickets are also available online or at the event for a wide array of prizes ranging from a one-year family membership to ACAC to a week-long stay at Four Sails Resort in Virginia Beach to U2 concert tickets, a week at a home on Smith Mountain Lake and more. You do not need to be present or attend the event in order to purchase raffle tickets or win prizes.

The proceeds from Splash for a Cure will go to finding more effective, less toxic therapies for kids with advanced Neuroblastoma, an overlooked pediatric cancer that forms in the nerve tissue of infancy or, in some cases, even before birth. It is the most common solid tumor cancer affecting children today and has the lowest survival rates, and currently, no cure. Almost 50 percent of cases occur in children younger than two years old.

Funds raised as a result of this event will directly support the research of Giselle Sholler, M.D., at the Vermont Cancer Center, who is a pediatric oncology specialist dedicated to finding treatment alternatives for Neuroblastoma and Medulloblastoma which claims the lives of one child every 16 hours.

Hosting the event is ACAC Fitness & Wellness Center. “We at ACAC are honored and thrilled to be supporting Splash for a Cure,” said Teppi Losciuto Marketing Director for ACAC. “Not only will we be celebrating Ishan’s life, his love of water and all those things that made him special, we’ll also be partnering with our friends within the wider business community of Charlottesville and helping to raise awareness and funding for this hugely important area of pediatric cancer research.”

Splash for a Cure sponsors:

Walmart, Mariners Landing, Crutchfield, Pepsi, Starbucks, Dive Connections, Chick-Fil-A, Papa Johns, and many more.

About The Ishan Gala Foundation

The Ishan Gala Foundation is a 501c3 public charity dedicated to raising money to find treatment options for children with advanced Neuroblastoma, a cancer that forms in the never tissue in infancy, or in some cases, event before birth. It is the most solid tumor cancer affecting children today and has the lowest survival rates, and currently, no cure. Almost 50 percent of the cases occur in children younger then two years old.

The charity was founded in late 2008 by Mayank and Sejal Gala of Charlottesville, Virginia in honor of their late son Ishan, a courageous inspiration who was diagnosed with the disease at the age of one year and a half. Ishan battled hard against the disease for eight months until the age of two years and nine days.

IGF is a founding member of the NB Alliance and C3Unite (Childhood Cancer Charities Unite), a dedicated group of cancer foundations led by families that fund pediatric cancer treatments.

For more information the Ishan Gala Foundation, visit www.ishangala.org.

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Contact
Ishan Gala Foundation
Gretel Truong
703-963-2215
www.ishangala.org
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