FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ON April 24, 2009
AAN Foundation Benefits from Grey’s Anatomy “Wedding Registry”
ST. PAUL, Minn. -
ABC’s hit television show Grey’s Anatomy has selected the American Academy of Neurology Foundation as one of its favorite charities and has listed the AAN Foundation on the Grey’s Anatomy online wedding registry for the show’s main characters, Dr. Meredith Grey and Dr. Derek “McDreamy” Shepherd. Fans and the public are encouraged to make donations to the AAN Foundation in lieu of gifts. The public can buy a virtual brain for $5 with 100% of their gift helping to fund vital research into brain tumors, dementia, MS, Parkinson’s disease, autism, headache, stroke, and hundreds of other neurologic conditions. Buy a virtual brain now at https://patients.aan.com/donations/. Grey’s Anatomy producers contacted the AAN Foundation earlier this spring with the idea to raise money for brain research and provide a way for viewers to give a real gift in honor of the fictional characters who, on the show, often treat patients with neurologic conditions. “This is an enormous opportunity to get the word out about the AAN Foundation and its mission to raise money and support for brain research,” said Catherine M. Rydell, CAE, Executive Director of the AAN Foundation. “The show’s popularity and avid fan base will be an extraordinary boost to our fundraising initiatives—with 100 percent of all donations going directly to fund brain research, which is critical to developing new treatments and cures for patients.” Dr. Isobel “Izzie” Stevens, played by actor Katherine Heigl, has created the Grey’s Anatomy online wedding gift registry. The general public is invited to purchase a virtual brain to support brain research at https://patients.aan.com/donations/. In addition to featuring the online donation feature, this newly redesigned website provides in-depth, easily searchable information for neurology patients, their families and caregivers, and the public on a host of diseases of the brain and nervous system. The American Academy of Neurology Foundation raises money to support vital research into the prevention, treatment, and cure of neurologic disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, autism, headache, stroke, and hundreds of other neurologic disorders.