Hi Friends and Family!

Thank you for visiting our fundraising page to support our 7th ANNUAL STROLL FOR SCLERODERMA! (7th! Oh my, how time flies!)

My family and I are thrilled to welcome you all back to the beautiful Deer Island for our 7th year Stroll! 

As many of you know, I started this walk in honor of my dad, Don Legere, who suffers from Systemic Scleroderma, the most serious form of Scleroderma. My dad has been fighting Scleroderma for 15 years. Dad received a stem-cell transplant as part of a trial study in 2015 and we had hoped that the transplant would stop the progression of his disease. We found out in early 2017 that it did not. Since there is still no known cure for Scleroderma, dad is on chemo for the remainder of his life, in order to slow the progression of his disease. He struggles daily with the effects of the autoimmune disease, as well as the other diseases it has brought on, such as Interstitial Lung Disease, Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension, and Raynaud’s Syndrome. 

There are many families who are not as fortunate as we are. Over the years since we've been a part of the Scleroderma community, my parents have said goodbye to many friends who suffered with scleroderma. Our goal with this Stroll is to come together to honor all the people and families who are affected by this disease, and to raise money in hopes to help find the cause and a cure for Scleroderma in their lifetime.

Thanks to many of you, our event grows every year in participants and donations. In the last 6 years combined we've been able to raise close to $100,000(!!!!!) all of which went to Scleroderma Foundation New England to help raise awareness and find a cure. 

Thank you so much for your support.

Love,

Maria & Jacek

About the Walk  
You may be wondering why the name of our walk changed from Strolling for Scleroderma to Stepping out to Cure Scleroderma - Deer Island Stroll. 

Things changed this year with the name of the walk and the website because Scleroderma Foundation New England merged with Scleroderma Foundation National. This is actually a good thing! It means we will have more support from a marketing perspective. We hope this will expand our reach and allow us to grow our local scleroderma community and bring in more charitable donations. Don't worry, the event will not change. My family and I are still organizing this Stroll and it will look very similar to how it looked over the past 6 years, only better! :-)

About Scleroderma
Scleroderma is a chronic, autoimmune disease. There is no known cause and no known cure YET. The immune system in a patient attacks its own body. Scleroderma means “hard skin”. However, the disease causes serious damage to internal organs including the lungs, heart and gastrointestinal tract. There are some medications which can ease some symptoms but there is NO cure.

June is Scleroderma Awareness month. My family and the Scleroderma Foundation are grateful for those who help raise awareness and funds to support research and create hope for scleroderma patients and their families.