New York, NY – Life provides individuals with the opportunity to fulfill their desired dreams. However, if you are diagnosed with a disease that requires a bone marrow or umbilical cord blood transplant then all your dreams can be brought to a halt. The only focus at that point is survival. The situation is even more dire if you are from an ethnic group that is underrepresented on the bone marrow registry. But, for one individual that went through such a horrific situation he made a choice to focus on his dream. Seun Adebiyi made sure he thought of staying alive to fulfill his childhood dream of representing Nigeria at the Olympics. On November 16, 2011, Preserve Our Legacy will host their 2nd Annual Fundraiser themed “Preserve Seun’s Dream” at Chocolat Restaurant located at 2217-23 Frederick Douglass Blvd., NY, NY 10026 from 6:00 pm- 9:00 pm. This event is sponsored by Harlem Native Corwin J. Breeden.
Seun Adebiyi in 2009, after graduating from Yale Law and in the midst of training for the 2014 Olympics, was diagnosed with two aggressive cancers – stem cell leukemia and lymphoblastic lymphoma. While battling this disease and going through treatment. Seun stayed focused on his goal of participating in the next Winter Olympics. In January 2010, he received an umbilical cord blood donation that saved his life. He is now focused on raising awareness about umbilical cord blood donations, while continuing to train for 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia. When asked about his goals, he replied “I want to help someone else receive a second chance at life, and the Olympics are the ideal platform to promote awareness, “says Seun Adebiyi, Olympic hopeful.
Preserve Our Legacy, Inc. a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit, whose mission is to educate individuals, especially those from various ethnic groups, about the benefits of stem cells through treatment options provided via peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC), bone marrow and umbilical cord blood donations. The organization also spearheaded Jaden’s Law to increase awareness about PBSC and bone marrow donation within various ethnic communities. Preserve Our Legacy launched the first educational program, P.O.L. Umbilical Cord Blood Program at Harlem Hospital in December 2010. Since Jaden’s death, Preserve Our Legacy has been advocating to increase awareness about the need of various ethnic donors, in addition to, having those that register step up when called upon to help a patient. “We are happy to team up with Seun to help him fulfill his Olympic Dream. He was our primary supporter with our program at Harlem Hospital when we started. Our fundraising goal is to help him with some of his expenses to achieve his dream and we will do just that, while educating ethnic individuals throughout the world about bone marrow and umbilical cord blood donation,” says Brett Melius, Co-Founder of Preserve Our Legacy, Inc.
The proceeds will be used to recruit bone marrow donors and support Preserve Our Legacy’s innovative cord blood program. Preserve Our Legacy will also assist Seun with his Skeleton training and equipment as he seeks to use his Olympic quest to raise awareness about bone marrow and cord blood donations.
Tickets are $100.00, you can purchase your tickets online at
P.O.L. “Preserve Seun’s Dream” Fundraiser
Location: Choclat Restaurant 2217 Frederick Douglass Blvd (120th & 8th Ave)
Date: November 16, 2011 Time: 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
For more info contact Preserve Our Legacy : 877-778-3623
Eleanor Griffin, Preserve Our Legacy, Inc. ext 720 or Eleanor.griffin@preserveourlegacy.org, Shana Melius, ext 702 or shana.melius@preserveourlegacy.org or Brett Melius, ext 703 or brett.melius@preserveourlegacy.org
###
