It’s a common thought when you sign a check over to a charity: Where is my money going? The cycling event Pedal the Cause answered that question last night.
At their “Yellow Jersey” dinner at Moulin in south city honoring those who raised $2,500 or more, Pedal executive director Jay Indovino announced 12 research grants made possible by the $1.3 million raised at the fall 2011 event. While you may hear about dollars being awarded by charities through grants, this news is different in a lot of ways:
1) Pedal the Cause is a St. Louis effort. Every dollar raised stays here.
2) It’s not for one specific cancer. Someone diagnosed with head & neck cancer or leukemia is being helped just as much as someone diagnosed with breast cancer.
3) Every dollar goes to fight cancer at the Siteman Cancer Center (the only National Cancer Institute Comprehensive Cancer Center within 240 miles of St. Louis) and St. Louis Children’s Hospital (which, in partnership with Washington University School of Medicine, is leading research with the Children’s Discovery Institute.)
4) Event costs are paid for through generous corporate partners, including Edward Jones and Michelob Ultra. If you raise $500, you are giving $500 to fight cancer.
All of this is critical to the advancement of cancer research as well. Last night, Siteman Cancer Center director Timothy Eberlein, MD, and St. Louis Children’s Hospital’s Joshua Rubin, MD, PhD, talked about how critical these dollars are in an environment where research dollars are hard to come by. If you didn’t participate in Pedal the Cause in the last couple of years, we hope you consider in 2012. They have “early bird” specials they will be announcing to allow people to register at a 50% discount for a period of time. Keep an eye on www.pedalthecause.org. Registration starts March 1 and we hope to see you and your bike this fall.
For more about Pedal, watch this story from yesterday with KSDK’s Leisa Zigman and Dr. Rubin:
-Jason Merrill
Posted by jmerrill91 
