Photo: Jay
WELLESLEY, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Nearly 150 people braved the cold and plunged head first into the waters at Morses Pond Beach in Wellesley on Saturday for the 8th Annual Plunge for Elodie fundraiser.
“Our very good friend Emily from high school, her daughter was born with Epidermolysis Bullosa, we call EB” Kristan Khitikian, an event organizer, told WBZ NewsRadio.
EB is a rare genetic skin disease that cuts patient’s life expectancy to under 30-years-old.
“The type that Elodie has is called recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa,” Emily, Elodie’s mom, added.
The event was created in a small town in Massachusetts but has since grown into a global movement with 21 plunge events in six countries.
Every dollar raised is donated to the EB Research Partnership (EBRP), a non-profit dedicated to support researches looking for cure.
Saturday’s event saw immense community support from all over Boston, including Boston College’s swim team and student-athletes from Wellesley High School.
“We’re about to reach three million dollars raised for the cause, so we are proud and motivated and just ready to find a cure,” Khitikian said.
Emily added that she is very optimistic about the future in EB research. “We are living in a world that we’ve never lived in before where we actually have an approved treatment,” she said.
WBZ NewsRadio’s Jay Willett (@JayWilletWBZ) reports.