In May 2024, Pecos Valley Production embarked on an exciting fundraising journey with an ambitious goal: to raise $30,000, surpassing the $17,000 we achieved last year through PVP retail donations.
Determined to make an even greater impact, we sponsored The 1st Annual Emarie’s Encanto Golf Scramble to benefit the CACNA1A Foundation, a vibrant and engaging event that brought together golf enthusiasts and supporters of our cause. But, we didn’t stop there. We continued our successful PVP retail fundraiser and partnered with Wyld Canna Company, expanding our efforts to reach an even wider audience.
Thanks to the overwhelming support and generosity from our community, we not only met our goal but exceeded it, raising an incredible $35,000! This remarkable achievement is a testament to the dedication and commitment of everyone involved, from participants in the golf scramble to customers and partners contributing through retail channels.
About CACNA1A
Every year, the CACNA1A Foundation sets out to help transform the CACNA1A community into a force to drive research forward to find treatments and a cure for our loved ones affected by this disease. We accomplish this through connecting and collaborating with patients, their resilient families, and caretakers, engaging with researchers seeking answers and pathways to a cure, teaming up with clinicians who offer expertise and care, and uniting with everyone who has compassion for those seeking a better quality of life.
We want to extend a huge ‘Thank You’ to everyone who participated in making this year’s fundraiser such a success! Your generosity enables us to embark on new projects aimed at accelerating research, moving treatments into clinical trials, and advancing toward FDA approval for our community.
Investing in a Cure, One Donation at a Time
In July, the CACNA1A Foundation will host its third CACNA1A Research Roundtable. At this event, 50 researchers, clinicians, and representatives from the National Institutes of Health and the biotech industry will come together to connect and collaborate for a cure. Out of these gatherings come new partnerships, ideas, and innovations that require resources to move forward, which are all funded by generous donations from people like you!
Your donations will fund the following resources:
- Test New Candidate Drugs for CACNA1A-related disorders: Three compounds have been identified as candidates that could help treat CACNA1A-related disorders. Your donation helps purchase the compounds ($10,000 each) and supports researchers who will carry out the testing in mouse models that mimic the disease.
- Develop New Disease Models: Disease models are animals that have been engineered to have a CACNA1A variant. This allows researchers to study the disease outside the human body in a faster period of time. Your donation contributes to the creation of new animals that researchers can use to identify symptoms associated with specific variants or to test potential treatments. The average cost of a mouse model is $20,000.
- Identify Biomarkers & Outcome Measures: A biomarker is something in the body that can be measured to see if a treatment works or not, for example, a change in brain activity. An outcome measure is how we can measure the biomarker, for example, an EEG. Your donation helps support research studies to identify and test biomarkers and outcome measures for CACNA1A-related disorders ($100,000+). This approach accurately measures the impact of a treatment in clinical trials and speeds up FDA approval for treatments within our CACNA1A community.
Donations also help fund the CACNA1A Natural History Study, which helps us learn about disease onset and progression and how treatments might change over time. They also support our biorepository, where patient-derived cells are available as tools for researchers to study the cellular reasons for how the disease manifests and test potential treatments. All of these projects wouldn’t happen without the support of family, friends, and all of you.
As this year’s CACNA1A fundraiser comes to a close, we want to express our profound gratitude to all who took part, contributed, and backed our mission. Your generosity and dedication have made a significant impact, helping us raise an astounding $35,000!
From the golfers who joined us at the CACNA1A Emarie’s Encanto Golf Scramble to the customers who contributed through PVP retail and our partnership with Wyld Canna Company, each of you played a crucial role in surpassing our goal.
Together, we’ve taken a substantial step forward in advancing research and finding treatments for CACNA1A-related disorders. We are immensely grateful for your continued commitment to the CACNA1A Foundation, and we hope to see you again next year!