The Dakota's Dream Fundraiser has been organized by the friends and family of Dakota Bihn to raise money and awareness to combat Tay-Sachs disease. The Bihn family in concert with many other Tay-Sachs families, have founded the tax exempt, 501(c)(3) approved Cure Tay-Sachs Foundation to fund the research that shows promise to treat or cure Tay-Sachs disease. Tay-Sachs disease currently has no treatment, no cure, and is fatal in children.

 Dakota is an 9-year old from Olmsted Falls, Ohio that is battling this hereditary, degenerative neurological disease. Dakota underwent a cord blood transplant at Duke Medical Center in January of 2006, but the disease continues to progress.  She is slowly losing her mental and physical capabilities because her body is missing a vital enzyme needed to clear waste from brain cells. One in every 250 people carries this fatal gene mutation that is passed on to a child when two carrier parents pass the gene to their baby. The carrier rates increase to 1 in 27 in the Ashkenazi Jewish, Louisiana Cajun, and French Canadian populations. The Irish American population finds 1 in every 50 people to be carriers of the Tay-Sachs gene

 It is our goal to raise $1 million in the next 12 months to help these brilliant researchers accomplish their task. The United States Senate has unanimously voted to declared September 2008 as National Tay-Sachs Awareness Month

• We need to get posters in the windows of 500 store fronts.
• We need local business to get involved - donations of money or raffle prizes for the after party.
• We want over 1,000 kids going door to door on Saturday, September 13 between 11am and 3pm.
• We need host families to serve as starting points for group of kids to canvas neighborhoods (West and East side).
• We need people to drive groups of children to areas not covered to canvas those neighborhoods.
• We hope to collect over $50,000 for Tay-Sachs research.
• We need the kids to return to Falls-Lenox Primary School ( 26450  Bagley Rd) between 3pm and 5pm to dump their jugs and celebrate their accomplishment
• The After Party will include free t-shirts for participants, raffle prizes, food, entertainment, and Dakota.

Please consider signing up to help. To sign up send an email to dream@curetay-sachs.org. Please send the names and ages of your children, your address and phone number, the email address we can reach you at, and IF you need collection jug(s).

We need your help!! Every dollar raised will be used to fund the CURE for Tay-Sachs disease. The CURE is within reach – we need your help to save Dakota and all the kids' worldwide suffering from this brutal disease.