Former Astros Pitcher and His Glam TV Star Wife Come Back to Minute Maid Park To Help Families Facing Huntington’s Disease

What: HelpCureHD “A Wining Night”

Where: Union Station at Minute Maid Park

PC Moment: As they have done for several years, former Houston Astros relief pitcher Joe Smith and his wife, TNT sports sideline reporter Allie LaForce, chaired a Houston evening designed to raise awareness and raise funds to aid in ending Huntington’s Disease. Smith’s mother Lee Smith was diagnosed with the hereditary disease in 2012 and passed away in 2020 at the age of 61.

The couple’s mission was one they promised to Lee Smith, helping end the dreaded disease one family at a time. Launching the effort, the couple created the HelpCureHD Foundation. With financial aid from the foundation, families have welcomed 63 HD-free babies to date.

As Smith notes, he and LaForce “have always known that we would be ready for the challenge and going full steam ahead to help families that are unable to afford the IVF procedure.”

For those with the gene, there is a 50 percent chance of passing the disease on to their children. Through pre-implantation genetic diagnoses and in vitro fertilization (PGD-IVF), specialists can screen embryos for the disease before being implanted. Therefore, in addition to raising money to find a cure for HD, Smith and LaForce are also focused on assisting others who have the possibility of passing it to future generations by awarding grants to cover the costs of PGD-IVF services.

Thanks to the science, in 2023 Joe Smith and Allie LaForce had their first child HD-free, a son.

Contributing to the bottom line of the evening was presenting sponsor Shaftel Diamonds‘ one-of-a-kind LaForce diamond necklace, created with Allie LaForce, that was the highlight of the evening’s raffle.

With the Houston Astros out of town for a road series, baseball Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson lent his prestige to the evening and launched the appeal by making a personal donation. While the players were away, a number of Astros wives stepped in to show their support. Including Reagan Bregman and Kat Pressly.

PC Seen: Adrienne and Jared Crane, Kat Pressly, Sue Rogers, Dr. Erin Furr-Stimming and Chris Stimming, Jo Furr, Dr. Dottie Roach, Danny and Iris Shaftel, Nancy and Jose Almodovar, Dean Putterman, Angela Hernandez, Elizabeth and John Elder, Bill Baldwin and Fady Armanious, Reagan Bregman, Jordan Seff, Brooke and Dr. Kevin Lee, Taylor Kessler, and Maxx Chewing.