Overview
- The Michael J. Fox Foundation’s 26th annual gala drew celebrities, researchers and donors to the Waldorf Astoria on Saturday, November 14, in a night meant to celebrate progress and raise money for Parkinson’s research.
- Fox attended the event with his wife Tracy Pollan and their three daughters, and Pollan told reporters they cope by taking life “day by day,” a remark that organizers used to underscore the family’s public solidarity.
- The foundation, started by Fox in 2000 after he disclosed his Parkinson’s diagnosis, has grown into a leading nonprofit funder and has invested more than $3 billion in scientific programs aimed at better treatments and a cure.
- Denis Leary hosted the evening and musical performances came from John Mayer and Brad Paisley, with comedians Josh Johnson and Tom Papa also on the bill to help drive donor support.
- Organizers said proceeds go directly to scientists and research projects, and the high-profile family appearance is intended to sustain donor engagement and speed funding to labs working on therapies that could change patients’ daily lives.