This past Thursday, Kavi Gandhi (YGF Development & Communications Coordinator) was honored as the 2018 Global Genes RARE Champion of Hope at a special ceremony in Irvine, CA. The awards ceremony was part of Global Genes' annual RARE Patient Advocacy Summit, a gathering of thousands of rare disease patients, patient advocates, and caregivers from across the globe.
Hundreds of individuals and organizations worldwide were nominated by their peers to receive the Global Genes RARE Champion of Hope Award for their notable efforts in rare disease advocacy, teen advocacy, science, collaborations, and medical care and treatment. From the extraordinary list of nominees, esteemed panelists selected the recipients to be honored as RARE Champions of Hope. (from globalgenes.org)
The Summit and Champion of Hope Celebration was an incredibly powerful and inspirational gathering of rare disease advocates who fight relentlessly for their causes. In his acceptance speech, Kavi noted, "Over the past two days, I have met so many different people, all here from different places and backgrounds. What I have realized though, is that we are all here for the same reason. Each of us has a cause, something that we are so passionate about that we will dedicate endless hours to it. It is that which gives me so much hope about what we, as a rare disease community can accomplish."
Below, you can watch Kavi's full acceptance speech and listen to a podcast he recorded with Global Genes that highlights his tireless work with the Yash Gandhi Foundation.