YOUNG PEOPLE'S CHORUS OF NEW YORK CITY WILL ASK THE LYME COMMUNITY WORLDWIDE TO PROVIDE HOPE ON SATURDAY, APRIL 18, 2009 AT TIME FOR LYME DREAM GALA The Dream  Creating a Lyme Free World Proceeds from the Gala will fund critically important research and education Greenwich, CT, March 2009  Time for Lyme, a research, education and advocacy group, is honored to feature the Young People's Chorus of New York City at its bi-annual gala fundraiser for Lyme disease research, awareness and an ultimate cure on Saturday, April 18, 2009, 7pm, at the Greenwich Hyatt. The Dream Gala on April 18th will feature the Young People's Chorus of New York City in a program highlighted by the chorus's signature song, "Give Us Hope," composed by Jim Papoulis, with lyrics by Leo Schaff and Regine Urbach. Click to listen. http://timeforlyme.org/ Lyme disease can affect anyone, said Cathy Rubin, Board Director, Time For Lyme, Inc., but our children are the highest at risk. There is too much at stake  we must join together to attack this disease and give our children hope that we will find a cure. When children are without hope, they are robbed of a fundamental right of childhood. We must never underestimate the power of giving hope to a child. We hope our performance on April 18 will inspire the Lyme community worldwide to help Time for Lyme realize its dream to create a Lyme-Free world, said Francisco J. Núñez, artistic director of the Young People's Chorus of New York City. We believe music can be a bridge to bring together those willing to help find a cure. The Young People's Chorus of New York City has distinguished itself as one of the finest youth choruses in the world. Founded by its artistic director Francisco J. Núñez in 1988, with a commitment to diversity and musical excellence, the chorus has won accolades for its performances on three continents everywhere, from Carnegie Hall and the White House to Smetana Hall in Prague and St. Martin in the Fields in London. The chorus represented the United States at the 2005 Seventh World Symposium on Choral Music in Kyoto. They will return to Japan in summer 2009 for a four-week, 18-city tour of the country. The Young People?s Chorus was recently honored to sing for Pope Benedict XVI at Yankee Stadium on his first papal visit to the U.S. About Lyme disease Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne disease in the United States, with more than 20,000 new cases officially reported every year. Unofficial counts are much higher. Lyme has been found in all 50 states, and a high percentage of its victims are children. Children are particularly vulnerable because they are outside a lot, especially in the early summer, when ticks are most plentiful, adds Ms. Rubin. If they do get infected, kids can experience headaches, fatigue and flu-like symptoms, and if the disease is left untreated, can also develop muscular and joint problems, learning and behavioral problems, depression, nerve damage, memory loss and other cognitive, psychiatric and neurological problems. Lyme disease is caused by a bacterium carried in certain ticks. Most, but not all, people infected with Lyme will see a bull?s-eye rash at the site of the tick bite between three and 30 days after infection. While this rash is a definitive symptom of Lyme, most diagnostic tests for the disease are unreliable and may produce false negatives, according to TFL and the Lyme Disease Association, who together have endowed the Lyme and Tick-Borne Diseases Research Center at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City, the first of its kind dedicated to the study of chronic Lyme disease. About the Time for Lyme Gala April 18, 2009, Time for Lyme will present its bi-annual Gala event  The Dream  Creating a Lyme Free World, at the Hyatt Regency in Greenwich, CT. Proceeds from the Gala will go towards combating the devastating effects of Lyme and other tick borne illnesses. During the course of the evening, we will share Time for Lyme's work in education and advocacy as well as never previously revealed ground-breaking new research. Please call (203) 969-1333 for more information and tickets. About Time for Lyme Time for Lyme is an organization dedicated to eliminating the devastating effects of Lyme disease and other tick-borne illness. Its mission is to prevent the spread of disease, develop definitive diagnostic tools and effective treatments, and to ultimately find a cure for tick-borne illness by supporting research, education, and the acquisition and dissemination of information. In addition, TFL continues to act as an advocate for Lyme disease sufferers and their families through support of legislative reform on the federal, state and local levels. www.timeforlyme.org.