Dogtown Raises Money and Recruits Donors for Be the Match

Last Friday, Dogtown Media teamed up with Be the Match, a nonprofit that handles the world’s largest and most diverse bone marrow registry, for a happy hour event to fight blood cancer. We expected a good time, but we were blown away by the support we received from the community.

Friends new and old showed up to the rooftop at our headquarters in Venice Beach for drinks and a good time — and to take a stand against this terrible disease. By the end of the event, we had raised thousands of dollars and signed up 50 potential donors.

Bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) are often the only path to a cure for patients battling blood cancers like leukemia. According to Carol Tsang, Recruitment Coordinator for Asians for Miracle Marrow Matches, “Joining the registry is as easy as swabbing your cheek with a Q-tip! And if you are a match, donating is just like giving blood…it’s not as scary as people think.”

For Dogtown Media, enlisting in the fight against blood cancer was an especially personal mission. Drew, the brother of one of our team members, was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia this past winter. You can donate directly to Drew’s fight against the disease here.

Dogtown Media CEO Marc Fischer broke down the mission for the evening in as simple terms as possible: “The more people we can get to register as donors, the more lives we can save!” We’d like to think that we saved a few thanks to our community’s enthusiastic participation.

Special thanks to everyone who came out and to our wonderful sponsors: Red Bull, The Volstead Act Company, YAS Fitness Centers, HauteLook, Komodo Venice, The Toffee Twins, KÁT RUDU, Lobo Man, Marcelle Le Voomz, Shane Heath, CHEZ TEX, and Mariko Brause. We could not have done this without you guys!

If you were unable to make it to the event and would still like to sign up to be a donor, click here. If you would just like to contribute money to Be the Match, click here.