The full $70,000 has now been directed to fund critical research underway in the Neuro-Oncology Department at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital working to find breakthroughs against deadly pediatric brain tumors like brain stem gliomas which currently have no known cause or cure.

Team Julian hosted more than 300 party-goers at The Townsend Hotel in Birmingham, Mich., who enjoyed a strolling supper, extensive silent auction, raffle prizes, and live music performed by The Royce & Jenn Band. Dr. Atman Pai, special guest and Julian’s radiation therapist from St. Jude, delivered news about the latest in radiation therapy and previewed the new proton therapy center currently under construction on the hospital’s campus. Julian’s father, Brad Boivin, gave a poignant presentation about the foundation’s accomplishments and direction, and introduced this video tribute about Julian and the mission that he inspired.

The success of the 2nd Annual Brave Knight could not have been possible without our dedicated planning committee, honored guests and generous sponsors including Uncle Ed’s Oil Shoppe, CBS Interactive, Huber & Breese Music, Madelon Ward and Lanie Hardy Cosgrove of Hall & Hunter Realtors, The Michigan Lottery, Ameriprise Financial, Allstate Insurance and Goldfish Swim School.

About Team Julian

Inspired by one brave little boy, 5-year-old Julian Boivin of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., The Team Julian Foundation, is a 501(c)3 that exists to raise critically needed funds for research to give kids a fighting chance against deadly pediatric brain tumors. In just two years, we’ve raised more than $200,000 for pediatric cancer research, patient programs and awareness campaigns.

The Team Julian Foundation unveiled this video at The 2nd Annual Brave Knight Benefit to tell the story about Julian’s battle and the mission he inspired. Thank you to Brad Boivin, Peter Boivin and especially Brian Smith for helping us create this amazing piece.

JOIN US AT THE BRAVE KNIGHT BENEFIT TO RAISE FUNDS FOR PEDIATRIC BRAIN TUMOR RESEARCH; HONOR LOCAL CHILDREN LOST TO DISEASE

Michigan native Dr. Atmaram-Pai Panandiker, MD of St. Jude to speak

BLOOMFIELD HILLS (NOV. 8, 2012) — The Team Julian Foundation will present The 2nd Annual Brave Knight Benefit for Pediatric Cancer Research on Saturday, November 24 at The Townsend Hotel in Birmingham, Mich. The cocktail event will feature a strolling supper, silent auction, raffle prizes and live entertainment provided by The Royce & Jenn Band.

Tickets, starting at $100, are available for purchase at teamjulianfoundation.com/the-brave-knight-benefit/. Advance tickets are encouraged. Only a limited amount of tickets will be available the night of the event. Approximately 300 guests are expected with a goal of raising $60,000. More than $40,000 was raised at the inaugural event in 2011 which supported the Pediatric Cancer Genome Project at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., as well as research through the DIPG Consortium at The Keller Lab at OHSU. All proceeds from this year’s event will benefit pediatric brain tumor research at St. Jude.

Brave Knight chairs, Nettie and Brad Boivin of Bloomfield Hills, will welcome as their special guest, Dr. Atmaram S. Pai Panandiker, MD, radiation oncologist at St. Jude who will speak on the current landscape and critical need for brain tumor research funding. Dr. Pai, as he’s known to his patients, is a native of Lathrup Village, and got to know Julian and the Boivin family well as Julian’s radiation therapist in the Winter/Spring 2011 during his treatment in Memphis.

Special thanks to Brave Knight sponsors including Uncle Ed’s Oil Shoppe, CBS Interactive, Huber & Breese Music, Madelon Ward and Lanie Hardy Cosgrove of Hall & Hunter Realtors, The Michigan Lottery, Ameriprise Financial, Allstate Insurance and Goldfish Swim School.

About The Brave Knight and The Team Julian Foundation
Inspired by Julian Boivin, a bright and courageous 5-year-old from Bloomfield Hills, Mich., The Team Julian Foundation is a 100% volunteer-based 501(c)3 committed to supporting the most progressive research to give kids a fighting chance against pediatric brain tumors. The Brave Knight event was created by his family and friends as a tribute to Julian who was diagnosed with a brain stem glioma on Nov. 29, 2010. The dreaded disease, which stole Julian on July 3, 2011 after only seven months, currently has no known cause or cure and is the deadliest of all pediatric brain tumors. In just two years, The Team Julian Foundation has dedicated nearly $200K for research, awareness and patient programs. To learn more, please visit www.teamjulianfoundation.com.
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Party-goers at The Brave Knight at The Townsend Hotel

The Team Julian Foundation proudly presents The 2nd Annual Brave Knight Benefit for Pediatric Cancer Research to be held on Saturday, November 24, 2012 at The Townsend Hotel in Birmingham, Mich.

The cocktail benefit will feature a strolling supper, silent auction, raffle prizes and live entertainment provided by Royce the Voice. All proceeds from the event will again benefit critical research for childhood cancers and pediatric brain tumors at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. and other progressive studies. The Inaugural Brave Knight raised $40K last year for the same cause.

Tickets go on sale Oct. 12. Admission to the 7 p.m. benefit starts at $100/person; $125/person for the Auction Preview at 6 p.m.

The Team Julian Foundation is grateful to the generosity and support of The Brave Knight sponsors which include The Townsend Hotel, Allstate Insurance, Ameriprise Financial, Hall & Hunter Realty and Huber and Reese Music.

For sponsorship information, please call Amanda Herr at (586) 945-5349. For other questions and auction donations, please call Nettie Boivin at (248) 790-2350.

In just one year, The Team Julian Foundation brought in more than $100K through individual donations, walks/runs, online campaigns and fundraising events. In turn, we’ve been able to dedicate nearly $90K directly to pediatric cancer research, patient assistance and awareness programs including:

• Make-A-Wish Foundation’s Walk for Wishes – $3.3K
• CureSearch SE Mich Walk – $9K
• St. Jude Pediatric Cancer Genome Project – $36K
• DIPG Research at The Keller Lab at OHSU – $34K
• St. Jude Give Thanks Walk – $2.5K
• National distribution of new book, Understanding the Journey: A Parent’s Guide to DIPG to patients/families/medical staff – $5K

Please know that we remain deeply committed to giving all kids a fighting chance against pediatric cancer, especially devastating brain tumors. There’s still a lot of work to do. Please watch for upcoming events to help us find a cure!

From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for being a part of Team Julian. We couldn’t do any of this without you!

Team Julian runners at The 35th River Bank Run in Grand Rapids

If you are thinking about training for a big race this fall, please consider doing it for Team Julian! In May, 70 runners and walkers raised more than $8K in advance of the 35th Annual River Bank Run in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Team Julian will be represented at The Detroit Marathon, The Chicago Marathon, half-marathons and triathalons too. If you’re pursuing a personal goal – and want to raise money for a great cause while training – please contact Brad Boivin at boivinbr@gmail.com to receive directions, a TJF fundraising letter and a Team Julian Tech Tee for your big event!

Understanding the Journey: A Parent's Guide to DIPG is a new book by The American Childhood Cancer Association

The Team Julian Foundation is proud to be a contributor to the new book, Understanding the Journey: A Parent’s Guide to DIPG, released in June 2012 by the American Childhood Cancer Association and edited by Ruth I. Hoffman, MPH.

At 368 pages, the book provides practical and clinical information for families, doctors and caregivers who are faced with the complexities of the diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, one of the deadliest pediatric brain tumors that currently has no known cause or cure.

Chapters include information about diagnosis, imaging, pontine function and anatomy, steroid treatment, radiation therapy, radiosensitizers, surgery, and chemotherapy and biologics. Each chapter concludes with parent perspectives on each topic – poignant, first-person accounts of their own experiences caring for their child diagnosed with DIPG.

Nettie Boivin, president of The Team Julian Foundation, contributed three parent perspectives about Julian’s experience in the chapters dealing with communication, pontine anatomy and function, and the balance of sadness and hope.

The Team Julian Foundation provided a grant to the American Childhood Cancer Association to cover distribution costs to ensure delivery of this first-of-its-kind resource to families and caregivers.

For medical staff or families interested in ordering a copy of Understanding the Journey: A Parent’s Guide to DIPG, please click here.

The Team Julian Foundation is partnering with Emagine Theatres in SE Michigan for a fundraiser for pediatric cancer research to coincide with the opening weekend of the new Disney/Pixar movie “Brave.”

All movie-goers will have the opportunity to make a donation of $1 or more at any of the Royal Oak, Novi, Rochester Hills, Canton and Woodhaven box offices June 22-24 – just one week after what would have been Julian’s 6th birthday – to help fund research and clinical trials through CureSearch for Children’s Cancer.

Thank you to Emagine Theatres for being such a wonderful partner as we honor Julian during what would be his 6th birthday – and moreover all the children fighting the most courageous fight against the ultimate bad guy: pediatric cancer.

Team Julian T-shirts were generously donated by Georgio’s Gourmet Pizza and Blue Sky Marketing.

All funds raised will be used strictly for raising awareness of pediatric cancer and funding research for rare and devastating brain tumors like brain stem gliomas.

The first of these two partnerships comes in a $25,000 grant to researchers studying DIPGs within the Pediatric Cancer Genome Project (PCGP) at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Washington University. This ambitious three-year effort will sequence the complete normal and cancer genomes of 600 children with some of the most poorly understood and aggressive pediatric cancers. The goal is to identify differences that explain why cancer develops, spreads and kills. Researchers believe the findings will provide the foundation for new tools to diagnose, treat or prevent the disease.

Breakthroughs are already underway – learn more here: Caner sequencing initiative discovers mutations tied to aggressive childhood brain tumors.

The second of the two partnerships has been forged with the DIPG Preclinical Consortium, a collaboration between patient groups and eight researchers. The consortium represents the only international scientific group focused on preclinical development of targeted therapy combinations for DIPG.  The goal of the research is to test and then move the most effective therapy forward to early phase clinical trials in the next 18 – 24 months.

Learn more here: Patient groups and researchers join forces to speed treatments for rare pediatric brain tumor.

“We are excited to partner with this amazing community of doctors, researchers and other patient groups who are at the forefront of the war on the most dreaded diagnosis in pediatric cancer, the Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPGs),” said Nettie Boivin, president of The Team Julian Foundation. “With no known causes or cures during Julian’s fight, our hope is to give doctors and other families facing this devastating disease a better understanding of why gliomas develop and how they can be effectively treated.”

The $50,000 dedicated to these two critical initiatives comes from The Team Julian Foundation’s fundraising efforts including $40,000 in proceeds from the foundation’s Inaugural Brave Knight: Courage for Cures benefit on Nov. 24, 2011 at The Townsend Hotel in Birmingham, Mich.

The Team Julian Foundation, a 501(c)3, was created by The Boivin Family and their friends to raise awareness and badly needed funds to arm kids with a fighting chance against childhood cancer. Inspired by one heroic little boy, Brad and Nettie Boivin’s 5-year-old son Julian, The Team Julian Foundation is committed to seeking out and supporting the most progressive research dedicated to finding cures for devastating brain tumors, specifically brain stem gliomas, also known as DIPGs. All funds raised will be used strictly for raising awareness of and promoting research against childhood cancer.