Tech power couple and Haute 100 San Francisco members Sergey Brin and Anna Wojcicki are upping the ante in an effort to raise funds for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.
The foundation announced a 10-day eBay auction for 1,500 pairs of limited edition NIKE MAG sneakers, raising a total of $4.7 million. Brin, co-founder of Google, and Wojcicki, co-founder of personal genetics company 23andMe, will be matching the funds raised.
Through their $50 million Brin Wojcicki Challenge, which will remain effective through 2012, the proceeds from the auction will be matched to total $9.4 million. The challenge debuted earlier this year and was made possible by the generous couple, who have been longtime supporters of the foundation.
“The enthusiasm this project ignited, and the funds and awareness the shoes generated for Parkinson’s research, are both humbling and inspiring,” said actor Michael J. Fox, head of the foundation and sufferer of Parkinson’s diesease. “Our Foundation is truly grateful to Nike for this unique partnership that brought Back to the Future fans, sneakerheads, and the PD community together in the quest to eradicate Parkinson’s from the space-time continuum.”
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