Raskin Family will be honored at MS On the Move luncheon Nov. 8

Each year, the MS on the Move luncheon, which will be held Friday, Nov. 8, at the Ritz-Carlton, honors a family and a company “On the Move.” This year Texas Instruments and the Raskin Family are honorees. Read on, for the Raskin family’s story:

Relocating from Pittsburgh to Dallas 49 years ago, Sandy and Philip Raskin found themselves alone without family support locally. The only natural thing to do was to bind together as a family unit with their children Robbin and Grady. This unit has grown and has remained tight over the years, only to become tighter when Robbin was diagnosed with MS in May 2007 at the age of 38. 

Robbin was determined to continue her life as normally as possible as the wife of Michael Solis and mother of Gus and Roman. She continued working her fast-paced, stressful job at Neiman Marcus as a senior art director, traveling several times a year as the location of her shoot dictated and overseeing the lives of her busy family. With the help of monthly infusions of Tysabri, she was able to continue this hectic life for 10 years until the scare of the Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy (PML) virus forced her to switch to Ocrevus, which has kept her on the right path for the past two years. 

Since her initial contact with the MS Society, the MS Walk every spring has been Robbin’s passion, raising thousands of dollars over the years. The passion infected Roman, who raised $4,254 for the 2018 Walk as his bar mitzvah project. He was recognized as the youngest Mission Mover becoming a member of the top fundraiser club. The whole family participates every year with Robbin’s Team SkyRocket including her niece Mya and nephew Myles, no matter the weather, beginning when they were still in strollers. Michael, although he also is committed to Team SkyRocket, raised over $50,000 over the four years that he rode in the MS Bike from Dallas to Fort Worth. Gus, an avid hockey player since he was 4, has been playing select, travel hockey in recent years. He has been deeply affected by the role that Jamie Benn, captain of the Dallas Stars, has played hosting the kick-off event for the annual luncheon for the past four years.

In 2016, Robbin and her father Philip, a professor of medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center specializing in diabetes research and patient care, co-chaired the On the Move Luncheon as a father/daughter duo, bringing tears to many eyes. In 2017 Robbin again co-chaired the Luncheon for the second time.

The year that Robbin was diagnosed was the first year for Dallas to host a luncheon. At that time, it was called the Women on the Move Luncheon and has evolved into the Dallas On the Move Luncheon, which is more inclusive. Robbin’s sister-in-law Allyson served on the committee for the first two years of that luncheon. It proved to be such a success and has become the wonderful event it is today. Sandy has supported every luncheon since 2007 with her financial commitment and by encouraging others to attend and write a check. Robbin’s brother Grady has initiated support from local sport franchises and area businesses.

The Raskin family as a whole is committed to raising the awareness of this dreaded disease and appreciates the strides that research has made because of all your financial support. One day multiple sclerosis will find a cure and even perhaps a prevention. 

Levine sixth graders capture volleyball championship

Mazal tov to Ann & Nate Levine Academy’s sixth-grade girls’ volleyball team, which won the 2019 MAL Volleyball Championship Tuesday, Oct. 29. It was a very exciting game ending in a decisive victory: 25-11 and 25-17. The team, made up of Mia Blum, Sydney Kramen, Tannah Levin, Addison Monfried, Shira Rahamim, Brianna Richardson, Maya Rothstein and Jordan Zimmerman, worked incredibly hard this season and represented Levine Academy to the highest level. They were led by Coaches Shoshana Ambers and Sheryl Ambers.