"We miss Michael, Marcia and Christa so dearly. They--along with all the others who've lost their battles to NPC--have given us a...legacy of hope." - Cindy Parseghian

What is NPC disease and how can you help?

The Ara Parseghian Medical Research Fund (APMRF) at Notre Dame is dedicated to finding a treatment or cure for Niemann-Pick Type C (NPC) disease—a rare and deadly neurodegenerative disorder that primarily strikes children, with death occurring before or during adolescence.

The APMRF was formed in 1994 when Cindy and Mike Parseghian’s three youngest children—Michael, Marcia, and Christa—were diagnosed with NPC disease. The family launched the foundation and named it after the children’s grandfather, Ara Parseghian, the much beloved and well-known Notre Dame football coach.

At the time the foundation started, the cause of NPC was unknown, and there were no treatments. However, since the launch of the APMRF, they have supported over 100 NPC researchers all over the world and significant progress has been made. Scientists have discovered the genetic cause of the disease, the biological pathway has been well studied, and there are multiple potentially life-saving therapeutics in clinical trials. Now, through its grant program and collaborative research initiatives, the APMRF brings together scientific, medical, and industrial leaders to conduct leading edge medical research in the field of NPC disease.

Due to the longstanding relationship between the University of Notre Dame and the Parseghian family, the foundation merged with the University in 2016 and launched the Ara Parseghian Medical Research Fund to continue the efforts of the Parseghian family.

The Parseghians eventually lost Marcia, Christa, and Michael to NPC, but their fight endures on behalf of their children and all those families who continue to face this fatal and tragic disease.

Notre Dame Day and the Donation Match: Today we know a great deal about the once-obscure disease, thanks to their courage, perseverance and commitment of the Parseghian family and all NPC families...and because of you, the APMRF's great supporters! With YOUR help, the Parseghian family's fight continues to FIND A CURE for all of those other families and children facing this fatal disease.

This year we are blessed to have an anonymous donor who generously committed to MATCH any gift to the APMRF during the NDDay competition. The competition lasts until October 27th at midnight, and 100% of your donations made to the APMRF on this NDDay webpage will be used to support NPC research. (*Donations must be made on the webpage to count for the match)

If you donate $25 then it will be MATCHED by $25. If you donate $500 it will be MATCHED by $500. If you donate $5000 it will be MATCHED by $5000!!!!!! (Click the Choose your amount button if you would like to donate $5,000! Wink! Wink!) Our goal is to raise $150,000 in donations which will be MATCHED by another $150,000. That would be $300,000 to support research to find a cure for NPC disease!

Extra Bonus: Every gift and every donor matters. If we exceed the number of donors we had in 2019 we will be eligible for a bonus $7500 or more!

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