Curing Coats Fundraiser

02/26/2025

Hello Curing Coats Family,
As we reflect on our amazing event this last weekend we recognize how blessed and lucky we are to have all of you apart of our team. To see the faces of supporters gathered to listen to our Doctors, Jack and myself was the best part of the evening. The night brought some wonderful news both from The Wilmer as well as the Curing Coats team.

- To date we have raised over $300,000!

- Jack and his Shots for Coats have raised over $48,000!

- The current research has now moved into animal trials and are being tested in 3 different applications. This is a HUGE development!

- Curing Coats events are not over. We are beyond excited to announce that Madison & Dustyn DeBernardo, parents to Charlie (Coats Patient), will now be your new faces of Curing Coats!!! They are now planning for 2026!!!!

The event was filled with amazing music, fabulous drinks, sweet desserts, friends and family. We couldn't ask for a better night.

If you attended or if you couldn't make it, but wanted to support our efforts this year you have 2 quick and easy ways to make a donation.

1. Head to Curing Coats Fundraiser and click here. www.curingcoatsfundraiser.com and click on the DONATE NOW button. You can also view a short video of our announcement about Madison & Dustyn!

2. Head directly to Curing Coats Fundraiser 2025
https://aspire.hopkinsmedicine.org/project/45464
This is our direct link for donations.

We want to thank you all for your years of support and for your participation in future events. THANK YOU!!!!

Help Johns Hopkins Medicine raise $25,000 for the project: Curing Coats Fundraiser 2025. Your gift will make a difference!

02/24/2025

This weekend we gathered, one last time, in our home. We brought this event back to where it all started and there we brought together our longest and strongest supporters of Curing Coats. The music was fabulous, Lost Ark was pouring drinks and the desserts were perfectly sweet.

We heard from Dr. Handa, Head of Retina at The Wilmer. Dr. Sodhi, Researcher for Curing Coats. Jack Pavlovcak, Founder Shots for Coats. Betsy Rutherford, Director of Development Wilmer. All had wonderful updates and sang their praises to all in attendance for their continued support of Dr. Sodhi's amazing work. However, one of the most exciting announcements was telling everyone where Curing Coats is headed.

I am not going anywhere. I will continue to consult with new patients, existing patients and be someone to walk families through their diagnosis. Our family will continue to support and run the Curing Coats website as well as social media sites as needed. And our family will continue fostering our relationships with everyone at The Wilmer Eye Institute at John Hopkins. Those things will never change. What is changing is who will be the face of Curing Coats and who will step into the role of party planner and fundraiser.

We met Madison & Dustyn DeBernardo 2 years ago when their son Charlie was diagnosed with Coats. We quickly formed a friendship, not only because of Charlie, but they live so close to us! Cue the dinners and phone calls and before you know it Dustyn is working with Kevin at Fidelity Investments, Madison is saying yes to my crazy idea and Charlie has gotten amazing care at Hopkins! When I called her up to make the "ask" she didn't even hesitate when she said YES to this idea of taking over the fundraiser.

So, we are not done. Our mission to support Dr. Sodhi through the completion of his discoveries is not done. Madison and Dustyn will help continue the fundraising and turn it into something I could only dream of. Look for announcements in 2026 for the next event and for now, please take a moment to donate to the 2025 fund. You can easily do that at www.curingcoatsfundraiser.com or with a direct link at https://aspire.hopkinsmedicine.org/project/45464

THANK YOU to all of you for your years of support, your continued support and to all our doctors who are making these promising drugs and treatments happen. And of course, THANK YOU to Madison and Dustyn....we can't wait to see what's next!

02/16/2025

Just one week away from our Curing Coats Fundraiser! You can still join us, just rsvp with the QR code below or at https://www.jotform.com/243235459585163

Reminder....we will be at our home, 6646 Autumn Wind Circle, Clarksville this year. Can't wait to enjoy an evening of drinks, desserts and live music with you!

02/05/2025

NEW EVENT LOCATION!!!
It seems fitting that the universe as sent us in a new direction for our event in a few weeks....we are coming home. We will host our last Curing Coats Fundraiser where we hosted our first, our home. We hope you can all join us, just scan the QR code on the invitation to RSVP. No tickets to purchase, donations at the door.

08/17/2024

Today is officially Coats Disease Awareness Day AND Sean is officially taller than Dr. Handa, his surgeon!!!! We can’t thank Dr Handa and his entire team at The Wilmer Eye Institute for the care they have provided Sean. They saved his eye, recovered a ton of vision and continue to welcome all our Coats patients with open arms. We have built a huge family of Coats kids at The Wilmer and we are many steps closer to a new drug that will help not only Coats patients but anyone with visions loss due to Macular Degeneration. It’s amazing.

If you would like to support this ground breaking research, head to our website and click the DONATE NOW button. 100% of your donation goes to our research. Even if you can’t donate, please go get your eyes checked and get your kids eyes checked. Had we not been going for regular eye doctor appointments since the age of 3, we would have been very late at catching Sean’s Coats Disease. Early intervention saved his eye❤️❤️❤️

www.curingcoatsfundraiser.com

06/04/2024

Did you want to make a donation? If so, please use this link and know that 100% of your donation goes to The Wilmer Eye Institute and Dr. Sodhi's research. Not one cent of your donation goes to run the yearly event!

Help Johns Hopkins Medicine raise $25,000 for the project: Curing Coats Fundraiser 2024. Your gift will make a difference!

06/03/2024

OH WHAT A DAY!!!!
Yesterday was amazing. We were blessed with great weather, wonderful people and really great news. Shots for Coats, Jack Pavlovcak, did it again with an amazing $7,368 dollars raised!!! INSANE!!!! Dr. Sodhi blew us away with news that things are looking REALLY GOOD for his research and new drug development. A lot of that information can't be shared currently, but know that our work, and your support, is making it all happen.

Lot's of people have reached out about how to donate! Super easy...head to www.curingcoatsfundraiser.com and click on the "donate now" button. This will take you to the correct page and will only take a moment to complete your donation.

Thank you to our families for your help and support. We could not have done it without you!!! And of course we wouldn't be where we are at without Lost Ark Distilling Company, Manor Hill Brewing, Maryland Co****le Organization, Diner on the go, DMV Taquiera, Kona Ice of Howard County.

We will keep you updated on fundraising totals in the next week...THANK YOU FOR DONATING!!!!

05/31/2024

ONLY 2 DAYS AWAY!!!!! This Sunday is our one and only event of 2024! Come out and enjoy an afternoon of great drinks, food, music and more, all for a great cause! Co****le registration (if you are playing) starts at noon and kicks off at 1pm.

If you can't make it in person, but would like to donate, please head to https://aspire.hopkinsmedicine.org/project/42004

This is the direct link to donate and the quickest way. 100% of this donation goes to The Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins. Remember to invite your friends, family and neighbors...open to all! www.curingcoatsfundraiser.com for all the details!

DMV Taqueria Lost Ark Distilling Company Manor Hill Brewing Diner on the go Kona Ice of Howard County Out of Order Maryland Co****le Organization Curing Coats Fundraiser Shots for Coats

05/28/2024

Calling all Co****le Teams!!!!
Registrations are low but we know many of you are planning on playing this Sunday. We have created a Google form for you to sign up in just seconds. It is a HUGE help if you take a moment to fill this out! You don’t have to play to attend, but so many have mentioned they are playing but haven’t signed up yet. This helps us plan! Thank you!!!!

Event Timing: June 2nd 2024 / Registration and Practice 12:00PM / Bags fly at 1:00PM Event Address: Lost Ark Distilling Company / 9570 Berger Rd Suite L Columbia, MD 21046 Contact us at (txt) 717-387-0079 or [email protected] This tournament will be a great day, they have an awesome event pl...

05/25/2024

NEW TRUCK ALERT!!!
Diner On The Go will be joining us in place of T&J Waffles. Thank you Diner on the go, we can't wait to enjoy a Patty Melt, Grilled Cheese, Cheesesteak and more next weekend!!!! And thank you to all our vendors for their donation of gift cards! You can win a gift card pack by playing in either the Social or Family Bracket! No need to play to attend, but it is a lot of fun! www.dineronthego.net to see their menu. www.curingcoatsfundraiser.com to sign up for Maryland Co****le Organization Co****le Tournament!

05/22/2024

My Wednesday Morning Plea!
We are just over a week away from Curing Coats Fundraiser!!!! One of the best ways we gauge how many people will be there is through the online Co****le signups. $20 a person or $40 a team and we promise a really fun afternoon. This is open to all ages, so please bring your kids! Registering on your phone or tablet is the way to go. You can find all links on our website. www.curingcoatsfundraiser.com

Thank you for taking 5 minutes to sign up!!!!❤️

05/12/2024

Got the gang back together again!!!! Shots for Coats was a huge success again with Jack making a whooping 933 baskets!!!! Insane!!!

05/11/2024

05/11/2024

On a day when we celebrate Shots for Coats we enjoy even more great news from our littlest Coats patients. Shane is being seen in Chicago, crazy thing is his mom found us through my Aunt Deb who is a nurse and works with some world class pediatric ophthalmologists. We connected and were able to walk her through her fears, questions she had and make sure her son was in the best hands possible.

What started as a way to raise funds had morphed into an organization that helps from many different angles and we could not do that with the support of some amazing friends, Karen Pfizenmayer Pavlovcak Jon Pavlovcak.

Great news for Shane this week, great news for 3 Coats kids this week (see previous post) and great news for Jack and his efforts today on the court. ❤️❤️❤️ 👁️ 👁️ 👓

05/10/2024

THIS SATURDAY, he does it again!!!!

2024 Shots for Coats Save the Date - May 11, 2024

That’s right, Shots for Coats will be May this year (and going forward) instead of September as in past years. Why the change you may ask? Good questions.

For those familiar with Shots for Coats, you know I started the fundraiser 8 years ago because I wanted to do something to help fight coats after my best friend Sean Smole was diagnosed with the disease. Sean’s family started the Curing Coats Fundraiser in 2016. I started Shot for Coats in 2016 to support the mole family’s fundraising efforts, and every year since then the Shots for Coats check presentation has been a part of the Curing Coats fundraiser, which has always been at the end of September. For several reasons, the Curing Coats fundraiser is moving from the fall to the summer, and this year will be on June 2. To keep Shots on the same schedule, it is also being moved as well.

To date, Shots for Coats has raised $41,334 since 2016. I am incredibly grateful for all the support over those years. For those who have supported me over the years and did so last fall, I am sorry to be asking for your support again earlier than usual. But rest assured, with your support and our fundraising efforts, we are making a difference!

Thank you so much,
The Shots For Coats Team

05/09/2024

NEW THIS YEAR! The amazing has been hand knitting 2 HUGE blankets for the fundraiser this year. She will be raffling these off on June 2nd. You can purchase raffle tickets ahead of time, via Venmo or Cash, or grab your tickets at the event. She would normally sell each blanket for $300, but she has donated them to the cause! Comment here to grab tickets or send a Venmo to Curing Coats Fundraiser (Kevin Smole). Thank you Sam!!!!

05/07/2024

June 2nd, our 2024 Fundraiser event date is quickly approaching. I am not only putting the finishing touches on that event...think liquor licenses, food truck schedules, etc. but we continue to hear from our families. 2 families that have found us due to our Fundraiser, met today at The Wilmer for their monthly surgeries. I GOT THE BEST 2 TEXTS EVER FROM EACH OF THEM!!!! Take a look at these happy faces and text announcements.

This is why we do what we do. This is what YOU are supporting. Not just supporting research, but supporting these families. Families that travel from all over the US for treatment with Dr. Handa and his amazing team. Because of this fundraiser, these families found someone to talk to, advice and the ability to get care quickly for their children.

Come to our event on the 2nd. Meet some of these families and not only support the cause, but hear from them first hand. You are all making a difference and I can't thank you enough for your amazing support! Sign up your Co****le team today!! Maryland Co****le Organization