Hangin’ with the Phillie Phanatic for a good cause

As a baseball fan, it was great to see the Phillies mascot, the Phanatic, at the event I emceed this past weekend. Ryan's Quest, a charity set up in the name of a NJ 12-year-old kid stricken with a deadly disease, The event raised thousands toward researching a cure for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

Ryan's mom and dad, Sgt. Dave Schultz from the Hamilton Township Police Dept and his wife Maria, started the organization and have raised more than $2 million over the past ten years.

NYPD Sgt. Rob Capalongo joined me on the floor to walk the audience through the pledge portion of the evening. Last year, with Rob's help, the audience pledged more than $35,000. This year, in record time, we were able to top it with more than $40,000 in donations.

Thank you to everyone who helped make the event a huge success including Congressman Chris Smith who in addition to being honored with the organization's "Hero" award, stepped up to donate $1,000 to the cause. It was also great to see Emily Powers who is the mom of Spotswood Police honorary office Trent Powers who also suffers from the debilitating and deadly disease.

The stories of courage from these amazing parents and kids are truly inspiring. It was an honor to play a small role helping to move the fight for a cure forward.

Bill Spadea is on the air weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m., talkin’ Jersey, taking your calls at 1-800-283-1015. Tweet him @NJ1015 or @BillSpadea.

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