Time
The Dans: Accelerating progress
through research
by Erica de Klerk
to move faster, and want to see
a solution for their daughter in
their lifetime.
Boca Raton, Fla., residents Dolly and Merwyn Dan
insist they are like anyone else
in the MS movement. True,
they actively volunteer and
seek effective means to
move us closer to a world
free of MS. However, they
have found their own
unique way of harnessing
their commitment to end
multiple sclerosis. They
inspire, engage and challenge
fellow volunteers to increase
the research funds needed
to speed new and better
therapies to individuals living
with MS—including their
youngest daughter who lives
in Chicago and was diagnosed
in 1998. That diagnosis changed
the Dan family’s life forever.
Merwyn and Dolly Dan
In response, since the
beginning of their involvement
Enough is enough
“We hope and pray every
day that something more will
develop in research,” Dolly
explains. Merwyn adds that
he and Dolly are specifically
interested in myelin repair,
which they believe one day will
stop their daughter’s disease
progression and restore the
function she has lost to MS.
“This is the key opportunity for
our daughter,” Merwyn says.
They are impatient for research
with the Society, the Dans have
supported research grants related
to myelin repair. Most recently,
their support of the Society
included a $1 million long-
term pledge to Fast Forward,
which focuses on accelerated
commercial developments of
new treatments for MS. The
Dans’ gift helped develop a
targeted program in nervous
system repair. “We would like
to see a faster route to the
solution, and Fast Forward is
an important step in moving
research along at an accelerated
pace,” explains Merwyn.
Dolly and Merwyn are
passionate about getting other
families to give to research,
and see an opportunity in the
NOW campaign. “The more
that others contribute to this
effort, the more partnerships
Fast Forward will be able
to make—and the more
scientific grants the Society
will be able to award,”
Merwyn says. “There are
many promising leads, but
limited funding.” Dolly
and Merwyn see NOW’s
$250 million commitment
to research as critical to
addressing this dilemma,
and with their pledge
they challenge others to
make the most meaningful
gift they can to advance
groundbreaking discoveries.
