Stuart Little was dubbed "the mouse that roared," in a July 16 article in The Washington Post. The reason? The Los Angeles premiere of Stuart Little 2 raised about $400,000 to equally benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International (JDRF), Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, and CuresNow, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting medical research and technologies - particularly stem cell research - in regenerative medicine.

The film's producers, Lucy Fisher and Douglas Wick, are longtime, active members of JDRF's Los Angeles Chapter, and co-founders of CuresNow. Their daughter Tessa, 11 - the youngest of their three children - was diagnosed in January 1999 with type 1 (juvenile) diabetes - a disease which strikes children suddenly, makes them insulin dependent for life, and carries the constant threat of devastating complications.

For the Wick family - immediate and extended - JDRF and raising funds for a cure have become a passion. Tessa was a delegate to JDRF's Children Congress 2001, served as the LA Chapter's Walk to Cure Diabetes 2000 Youth Ambassador, and has been an articulate advocate in behalf of a cure for diabetes. The Wicks' Family Walk Team, "Tessa's Troopers," placed #1 nationally in the Family Team category, raising $390,000 in the 2000 Los Angeles Chapter Walk, and $396,000 in 2001. Doug Wick has been honored as the Chapter's Father of Chapter's Honorary Board.

In 1999, the benefit premiere of the first Stuart Little feature (produced by Wick) raised $941,000 for JDRF. The event also included a $1 million gift through an online Hollywood Garage Sale fundraiser. Last year, Jonathan Lipnicki (co-star of both Stuart Little movies) joined Tessa to testify before Congress in support of diabetes research during Children's Congress.

As co-founders of CuresNow, Fisher and Wick also testified recently before Congress about the potential for stem cell research to treat and cure many devastating diseases. Talking about a research area long advocated by JDRF, Fisher said: "This research not only has the potential to cure diabetes, but also can help the 120 million people who have other diseases, like heart disease, Alzheimer's, cancer, and Parkinson's disease...We live with a ticking clock, so we can't afford for people to be sluggish and have a moratorium on good research that could lead to a cure." Actor Michael J. Fox, the voice of Stuart Little, has Parkinson's disease.

A check to JDRF for $133,000 from Columbia Pictures was presented at New York City's fabled toy store FAO Schwarz on Thursday, July 18 - the day before the hit movie's nationwide opening - with JDRF President and CEO, Peter Van Etten, an enthusiastic group of JDRF volunteer children with diabetes, CNN anchor Paula Zahn, and cast members Geena Davis and Jonathan Lipnicki in attendance. In addition, FAO Schwarz unveiled its new Stuart Little 2 boutique Thursday and donated 10% of the day's sales from its New York store to JDRF.