Mark your calendars and plan to join MitoAction for the hottest Derby Day event in Boston, Saturday, May 4, 2024!

Sandra K. Russell Derby Day Benefit for Mito

Saturday, May 4, 2024

Mark your calendars and plan to join MitoAction for the hottest Derby Day event in Boston! Big hats, bow ties, incredible silent and live auction items, signature mint juleps – we’ll have it all!

The annual Sandra K. Russell Derby Day Benefit for Mito is held in honor of Sandra Russell, who lost her battle to mitochondrial disease in 2008. Sandra was the wife of MitoAction Board Member, Gordon Russell, and mother of Derby Day Committee Members Jonathan Russell, Buck Russell and his wife Rebecca Russell.

It was a tradition in the Russell’s home to host fun-filled celebrations on Kentucky Derby Day for family and friends.

To date, Derby Day has raised over $1.6 million towards improving the lives of patients and families suffering from mitochondrial disease. With these funds, MitoAction has provided 102 Matthew Harty Camper Fund scholarships for college students with mitochondrial disease totaling more than $150,000. In 2023, we awarded our largest number of scholarships yet, providing assistance to 13 young adults. We have also sent over 400 kids with mitochondrial disease to summer camp! We look forward to sending our second group of families for a once-in-a-lifetime wish trip through our partnership with Give Kids the World Village in Orlando, FL through our newly rebranded WishTrips, called Dalia’s Wish. All of this is largely thanks to the support of the community at the SKR Derby Day Benefit.

Because of the generous support of our Derby Day sponsors, volunteers, and attendees, MitoAction continues to provide vital support to those who courageously face the day to day challenges of this devastating rare disease.

To learn more about the programs made possible through funding from SKR Derby Day, follow the links for Dalia’s Wish and the Matthew Harty Camper Fund Scholarship.