7th Annual Race For Grace

The 7th Annual Race

For Grace to benefit the Reflections of Grace Foundation is scheduled

for Saturday, March 29, 2014 at Norwin High School in North Huntingdon,

PA.  The Race For Grace,

which began in 2007 as a grassroots effort led by a small group of friends, has

developed into a true community event and has grown considerably over the past six

years – the 2013 Race For Grace had nearly 3,150 participants and

raised over $120,000.  In addition to the

5K Run/Walk and the 1-Mile Fun Walk, the event includes activities for the

whole family -- children's games/activities, silent and chinese auctions,

breakfast/lunch items for sale, a bake sale, a line dance in memory of Grace,

hair donations, etc.  To register online,


visit www.reflectionsofgrace.org

or arrive at the Race between 7am and 8am on March 29, 2014.

Reflections

Of Grace Foundation, Inc. is named after Grace Elizabeth Ekis, a 5-year old

girl from North Huntingdon, PA, who lost her courageous 13-month battle with a


rare cancerous brain tumor on Valentine's Day 2008.  Grace's cancer was a diffuse intrinsic

pontine glioma (DIPG), a tumor of the brainstem for which there is no known

cure and there have been no advances in treatment options for more than thirty

years.  Despair over the loss of their

child coupled with frustration over the lack of research protocol led Tamara


and Brian Ekis to form the Foundation in their daughter’s memory.  As its mission, the Reflections Of Grace

Foundation is dedicated to:

·                 

Providing

financial, emotional, and educational support for children and their families

affected by pediatric brain cancer. 

·                 

Raising

awareness of all types of pediatric brain tumors, with a particular focus on

DIPGs, or Brainstem Gliomas. 

·                 

Joining

with other like-minded organizations in educating, aiding and funding the

search for a cure for DIPG and other forms of pediatric brain cancer, in the

hopes of curing all cancers.

Monies

raised by the Foundation go directly to families with children battling brain cancer,

and also are used to fund crucial research grants, with the intent of someday

discovering a cure.  To date, Reflections Of Grace has given $184,000 to help 119

families of children battling brain cancer, across 26 states, and has awarded $165,000 to fund crucial research grants.