Why DEKM Joined the Fight

In 2014, DEKM Fund founder Evelyn Morris, her husband David, and their daughter Kate began a fight for Kate’s life after she was diagnosed with early T-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a newly identified and aggressive form of cancer with just a 30% five-year survival rate. Kate’s survival was made possible because research funding had already paved the way for effective treatment. She completed therapy in 2016 and, in February 2024, celebrated her 10-year remission anniversary.

Inspired by the life-saving power of research, Evelyn and David established the DEKM Fund to serve as a catalyst for change—supporting innovative solutions for overlooked and underrepresented causes where funding can make the difference between hope and heartbreak.

Their path to DIPG advocacy began in 2023, when they came across a Facebook post about a young girl diagnosed with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), a devastating pediatric brain tumor that forms in the brainstem and is universally fatal. Seeing her photo, they were struck by a painful familiarity. “That looks just like Kate’s cousin,” they said. “This is not OK. Someone needs to do something.”

That moment sparked immediate action. Evelyn and David contacted ChadTough Defeat DIPG Foundation that very evening and began learning how they could help fund research and drive progress. Today, we are proud to partner with the DEKM Fund as a ChadTough Defeat DIPG Research Partner, united by a shared commitment to change what is possible—and to make this disease survivable.