By Marise Boehs
Children’s Cancer Research Fund (CCRF) is a national nonprofit dedicated to ending childhood cancer. Their main focus is to support the research of bright scientists across the country whose ideas can make the greatest impact for children fighting cancer.
They also fund resources and programs that help kids and families as they navigate the difficult experience of cancer treatment and survivorship.
In 1979, 13-year-old Katie Hageboeck, from Minnesota, was nearing the end of her 16-month battle with leukemia. Before she died, Katie asked that the money she’d been saving for a 10-speed bicycle be donated to a little-known fund at the University of Minnesota called Children’s Cancer Research Fund (CCRF). With that seed of support from Katie and her family, CCRF has grown to contribute over $200 million in funding of nationwide research, education and quality of life programs for children with cancer.
Katie never got the chance to ride her new bike, so now we ride to realize her dream of a world without childhood cancer. Since the first Great Cycle Challenge event in 2015, our community of riders from all 50 states has ridden a total of 33,817,103 miles, and together we’ve raised $72,646,876 in support of research to develop better treatments and carry-on Katie’s legacy.
To ensure fundraising efforts have the greatest impact, GCC HAS chosen to focus research funding on three main areas:
Hard-to-Treat Diseases. Our goal is to help researchers develop safer, more effective treatment options for cancer where survival rates remain low or haven’t improved in decades.
Survivorship. The battle isn’t over when cancer is gone – so we fund research that aims to give every survivor of childhood cancer a long, healthy life after treatment. Eliminating Health Disparities. Children from racial and ethnic minority groups are less likely to survive cancer. We’re funding research that identifies the root cause of these disparities and builds interventions to eliminate them.
15,700 children in the U.S. are diagnosed with cancer each year, and 1 in 5 of those will not survive. Thankfully, we know that funding research can significantly impact survival rates and save lives. But we still have work to do to ensure that every child diagnosed with cancer can live a happy and healthy life. Here are some key reasons why we’re riding together this September to fight kids’ cancer.
• About 1 in 285 children will develop cancer before the age of 20.
• Cancer remains the most common cause of death by disease among children in the United States.
• More than 95% of childhood cancer survivors will have a significant health issue related to their cancer or treatment by the time they are 45 years old.
• All funds raised go to support the work of Children’s Cancer Research Fund, a national nonprofit that funds researchers whose ideas are making the greatest impact for kids fighting cancer.
We also provide resources and programs that help kids and families as they navigate the difficult experience of cancer treatment and survivorship.
Rider’s support allows GCC to continue to work to fight kids’ cancer and give kids the brighter futures they deserve.
Donate online at:
www.greatcyclechallenge.com
AUTHOR’S NOTE
This is my 9th year to participate in Great Cycle Challenge. Each year I have pledged to ride 300 miles and raise $500. Some years I did, some I exceeded and some I failed both on miles and dollars.
Sometimes I say I’m not going to do it again next year, but when the email comes in saying it’s time to sign up – well, actually they assume the sale and say “Thank you for being a Champion” and what size jersey do you need – I participate again.
I am fortunate to have good health and resources that others don’t, so it seems the very least I can do.
Ride my bike and ask for donations.
I will do my best to ride 300 miles in September (that’s 10 miles a day BTW)
and if you could possibly have a couple extra dollars to help kid’s cancer research I would very much appreciate your kindness.
Log on to:
www.greatcyclechallenge.com/Riders/MariseBoehs
PS. There are a great number of riders in the Metro area – maybe one of your neighbors even. Find them all on the GCC website.
