The Fifth Annual Fishing for a Cure auction cleared more than $200,000 and enabled this grass roots organization to claim a million dollars raised for FSH Muscular Dystrophy research.

Pacific Northwest Friends of FSH Research, based in Kirkland, is extremely grateful to their many supporters over the past five years who made this million dollar landmark possible. Guests, sponsors, research scientists and individuals affected by Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy, or FSH, gathered on Feb. 7 this annual gala event at the Bellevue Hyatt, where all of the funds raised during the event will be used to fund much needed FSH research.

Since the first auction, the Pacific Northwest Friends of FSH Research has awarded six research grants and has made an impact upon the FSH research community.

“Thanks to the extreme generosity of our community, we have been able to attract scientists to the field of FSH research and fund pilot projects, which might shed new light upon this disorder,” said the organization’s president and founder, Terry Colella.

Today, a collaborative FSH research network has been developed between the scientists in Seattle based at the University of Washington, Fred Hutchinson Research Center and Children’s Hospital and those at the Universities of Rochester, Minnesota and the Netherlands.

Pacific Northwest Friends of FSH Research, also known as Friends of FSH Research, was founded by the Colella family in Kirkland, Washington following the FSH diagnosis of their child in 2003. Conducted from their home, Friends of FSH Research has minimized administrative costs thus, increasing the funds available to achieve their mission of stimulating & funding FSH research. Friends of FSH Research is a non-profit organization thus, donations may have tax benefits as dictated by the IRS.

For more information on FSH Muscular Dystrophy or the Friends of FSH Research please visit www.fshfriends.org, or contact Terry Colella at 425-827-8954 or fishauction@fshfriends.org.