Meet Jim Raffone, our newest member and the Founder/CEO at JAR OF HOPE.
JAR of Hope’s mission is dedicated to bringing awareness and raising funds directed to ongoing research in the hope of eliminating Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
During our Spring business mixer, Jim took some time to share his story. He founded JAR of Hope in November 2013 after his son James Anthony Raffone (JAR) was diagnosed with a terminal muscle wasting disease known as Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
Duchenne has been around for 184 years. To date there is not a cure nor a therapy to slow this disease down.
Statically children with this disease:
- by age 4-6 are diagnosed
- by age 9-12 loose their ability to walk
- by age 15 children become quadriplegics
- by age 18 the children loose the ability to breath involuntarily
- by their early 20s the children succumb to the disease.
JAR of Hope is pioneering the 1st therapy ever to help all children with Duchenne, not just a small population of boys.