Since 2008, local philanthropists Jane and Luther Lockwood, along with their daughter Jane, have led a highly successful fundraising initiative—Jeans, Genes and Geniuses—to benefit the McColl-Lockwood Laboratory for Muscular Dystrophy Research at Carolinas Medical Center, one of the leading facilities in the world dedicated to finding a cure for Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy (LGMD).
Daughter Jane was diagnosed with the disease when she was just five years old. Since that time, her family has advocated for a cure. Gifts made to their Jeans, Genes and Geniuses fundraising events chiefly benefit a bi-annual International Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy Research Conference, hosted in Charlotte, which brings together experts from across the globe to specifically address the latest research initiatives likely to deliver a cure for LGMD.
On March 9, close to 200 guests gathered for Jeans, Genes and Geniuses, raising over $115,000 for the Fifth International Workshop for Glycosylation Defects in Muscular Dystrophies, in Charlotte.
Co-chaired by Jane and Luther Lockwood this year’s Jeans, Genes and Geniuses event included more than 70 friends and supporters who served as underwriting hosts, signifying an outpouring of community support for this area of research.
Special thanks to Jane and Luther Lockwood, Charlotte and Tom Lockwood, Jane and Hugh McColl, Jan and Ed Brown, and Jane & John Spratt for their substantial support.
Pictured (left to right): Jane and Luther Lockwood, Jane and Hugh McColl, Jr., Jane B. Lockwood, Thomas Lockwood, Renee and Hugh McColl, III