men wear pink fundraiser

Shanna, Beth and Ben Glassman

We’re asking for your help supporting a cause that’s very personal for Cathy and I. Back when we first opened KidWorks in the late 1990’s, we had a young family, the Glassmans. Dan Glassman is a local attorney and his wife Beth, was a news anchor at the local ABC affiliate. Her tagline at the end of each broadcast was “Make good news happen.” They were first-time parents and we were first time preschool owners, and we, and our own kids, quickly became close personal friends. 

On a perfectly clear and sunny morning Dan got a call telling him Beth had been involved in a single car accident. She’d been driving their minivan with their children, lost consciousness and ran off the road. Everyone was fine but they took Beth to the hospital to get checked out. An MRI revealed Beth had a small lesion deep inside her brain. Based on its characteristics they suspected either Multiple Sclerosis or possibly a Glioblastoma. Suddenly we were all absurdly praying that Beth, a young mother of two still in her thirties, had Multiple Sclerosis. 

It wasn’t Multiple Sclerosis. Glioblastoma at that time was an aggressive, virtually incurable brain cancer with less than 5% five-year survival rate. Most patients die within 18 months of diagnosis. I cannot begin to tell you the terror, horror, chaos and cruelty that enveloped and upended this perfect, beautiful little family. Determined to fight, for themselves and for the sake of their children, they found an experimental treatment program at Duke. But on a follow-up visit they were told there was nothing more that could be done. Beth was told to get her affairs in order. She died eight months later, right after her 40th birthday. Shanna and Ben were still in elementary school at the time. 

Since then, Dan, his wife Maggie and the kids have dedicated themselves to working toward a future where no family is ever told that there’s nothing more that can be done, by working to support cancer research. Promising new cancer treatments, even for a disease like glioblastoma that were untreatable when Beth was diagnosed, are emerging. One charity the Glassman family champions is Men Wear Pink, which supports vital breast cancer research. I’m honored to be asked to serve as an Ambassador this year.

On behalf of Dan, Beth, Shanna and Ben, and ourselves, please consider a contribution in any amount if you can.

Cathy & Mike