A star-studded gala in Century City to benefit the Race to Erase MS raised more than $1.5 million, organizers said Saturday.
The 32nd annual Race to Erase MS Gala was hosted by actress/comedian Caroline Rhea, and featured performances by Robin Thicke, A Great Big World and Siedah Garrett, along with a dance performance by “Dancing with the Stars” pros Daniella Karagach and Pasha Pashkov.
“Thank you for being there for me when I needed someone to lean on, supporting me in the biggest and most important way, and bringing us to where we are today with so many miracle medications on the market,” Race to Erase MS founder Nancy Davis told the crowd during the event. “We all need each other to lean on until we succeed in finding the cause and the ultimate cure for MS. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Money raised during the event will benefit Race to Erase MS and its Center Without Walls program — a collaboration of MS research centers dedicated to treating a finding a cure for MS. The program includes researchers from Cedars-Sinai, UCLA, USC, Harvard, Yale, Johns Hopkins and other institutions.
According to the organization, Race to Erase MS has raised more than $58 million since its founding in 1993.
Among the celebrities who were on hand for the event were Brian Austin Green, Carmen Electra, David Faustino, Faye Resnick, Frances Fisher, Mindy Cohn, Erik Estrada, Thelma Houston and Kelly Osbourne.