Dear Friends and Family,
Thank you for visiting the TeamZoey fundraising page! As you probably know, my granddaughter Zoey, born in September 2009, has Progeria, a very rare and fatal condition characterized by the appearance of accelerated aging in children. In fact, the name Progeria is from the greek and means "prematurely old".
Zoey is one of only 78 children in the entire world known to have this disease, 17 in the United States. Although they are born looking healthy, children with Progeria begin to display many of the signs of aging including growth failure, loss of body fat and hair, stiff and aged looking skin, stiffness of the joints, and generalized atherosclerosis, including heart disease and strokes. And, all of these children will die of heart disease or stroke at an average age of only 13 years!
There is a tremendous need for more research into the cause and the cure of Progeria. And finding the cure will not only help Zoey, but will go a long way into solving the problems of adult heart disease, the leading cause of death in the general population, as well as discover some of the secrets of aging.
Donating through this website is simple, fast and totally secure, and it is also the most efficient way to support our fundraising efforts. 100% of your donations go to the Progeria Research Foundation, whose mission is not only to discover the cure and develop treatments, but to locate every child in the world who has progeria. We estimate that there is another 150 unidentified children out there.
Many, many thanks for your support. We formed Team Zoey and created this site in April of 2010 (Zoey was diagnosed a month earlier in March) and because of people like you, we raised just over $400,000 by the end of the year! Our 2011 goal is $500,000. Through bake sales, motorcycle runs, dinners, fashion shows, spin-a-thons, swim meets, a golf tournament, and many other events we WILL reach this year's goal. But we need your help.
So, please, participate in one of our Team Zoey events or feel free just to make a donation. You can visit our web site at TeamZoey.com and see not only the schedule of this year's events, but pictures and video's of last years, as well as fundraising updates. You can also connect to the Progeria Research Foundation's site and read about the latest research advances or learn more about the rest of the kids. And lastly you can look at photos of Zoey, a beautiful and feisty little girl, as she grows up fighting the fight against progeria.
On behalf of my entire family, and especially Zoey,
Thank You for all your support
John and Marlene Marozzi
(Pop Pop & Nana)