The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) held its 12^th Annual “Friends for Life” Fall Gala on Saturday, November 1, in Greenwich, Connecticut. Attended by more than nine hundred guests, the event raised over $1.5 million for the organization. The MMRF, the leading global fundraiser for multiple myeloma research, directs its donations toward development of novel treatments of the disease.

Deborah Norville, host of Inside Edition and author of Thank You Power, served as mistress of ceremonies for the gala. Other honored guests included Melanie Bloom, widow of NBC news correspondent David Bloom; Geraldine Ferraro, former Vice Presidential candidate and multiple myeloma patient; Congressman Christopher Shays; Bob Woodruff, television journalist; Ann Curry, NBC Today Show news anchor; and Bob Costas, sportscaster.

The MMRF awarded its annual Spirit of Hope Award to Cindy Crawford, model and spokesperson, and Tiki Barber, former New York Giant and NBC Today Show correspondent. Crawford lost her brother to cancer, and Barber’s mother is a twelve-year breast cancer survivor.

The MMRF was founded in 1998 by identical twin sisters Kathy Giusti and Karen Andrews shortly following Giusti's diagnosis with multiple myeloma. The MMRF has since raised over $102 million to fund seventy laboratories worldwide.