Dravet Syndrome Photo Diary Contest Concludes With Grand Prize Winner and $50,000 Donation

A photo diary contest to raise awareness for Dravet syndrome (DS) has concluded, and the winner chosen. For the contest, families of people with DS submitted photos of their everyday moments with DS. The contest was sponsored by Zogenix (Emeryville, CA). The 3 families with the most ‘Likes’ and shares received prizes. 

Erika Anderson from Henry, IL, won the first prize—a photo shoot for her family with a professional photographer—for her photo of an endearing moment showing Ryker, age 3 years, cheering on the Chicago Cubs with his siblings. Anderson captioned her submission with: “Ryker had to join in on school spirit week with his siblings! Favorite team day—go Cubs, go!" 

For every like and share of a photo, Zogenix donated money to the Dravet Syndrome Foundation and the Epilepsy Foundation. A total of $50,000 was raised.

“These everyday moments in life with fewer seizures have been a blessing. We were motivated to share our photos for the opportunity to give back to the community and show our experience with Fintepla,” said, Erika, the caregiver whose submission won the grand prize. “We’re proud to celebrate these favorite moments with our community and honored to represent this inspiring campaign as the contest Grand Prize winner. It was truly amazing to see the response from the community and to participate in a campaign that has raised $50,000 for organizations that help families like ours.”
 
“We appreciate community initiatives like the photo diary that celebrate the Dravet syndrome community and the progress we are making together in treating Dravet syndrome. The powerful images families shared remind us of how meaningful moments between seizures are, and the difference they make for families living with Dravet syndrome and for us all,” said Mary Anne Meskis, executive director of the Dravet Syndrome Foundation. “We’d like to thank the Dravet syndrome community for participating in the photo diary, and for raising $25,000 to support our organization’s ongoing mission to one day cure this rare, intractable form of epilepsy.”