Anna’s Angels Gala Celebrates Life

By Nancy Pardue

Michelle Pfeiffer knows that angels walk among us. You can be one of them.

Pfeiffer and her husband, Andrew Merrills, are co-founders of Anna’s Angels, a nonprofit organization that funds grants to support Down syndrome research at Duke University Medical Center.

The foundation is named in honor of their daughter, Anna, age 8, who was diagnosed with Down syndrome at birth.

The family has seen firsthand the giving spirit of the Cary community to the foundation’s mission.

“We have such a strong local following,” Pfeiffer said. “Anna is part of this community, and Duke is right here. So many people can identify with somebody who has Down syndrome, and through Anna’s Angels they can get involved. It’s a small, grassroots effort, and they can know where their money is going.”

The foundation’s largest fundraiser of the year, the Anna’s Angels Gala, is set for March 13 in the Grand Ballroom at Prestonwood Country Club. The seventh annual gala is a black-tie event featuring a dynamic speaker, live and silent auctions, musical performances, dinner and dancing. Emcee for the evening will once again be ABC11 TV news anchor Steve Daniels.

“The gala is a celebration of individuals with Down syndrome,” Pfeiffer said. “And every year we want to keep doing better than the year before.”

The 2009 gala, despite a bleak economy, raised thousands of dollars for research; overall 2009 donations to the foundation totaled more than $143,000.

Since its inception in late 2003, Anna’s Angels, formally The Anna Michelle Merrills Foundation for Down Syndrome Research, has raised more than $550,000 to fund research grants.

For tickets or more gala information, contact Pfeiffer at michellepfeiffer@nc.rr.com or visit www.annas-angels.org.

Here are some photos from the 2009 Anna's Angels Gala.
Click on the thumbnails below to see a larger version.