COMMUNITY NEWS

Support UCCC research: Join CancerCure

Carolyn Fancher and Midge Wallace

In 1996, cancer survivors Midge Wallace and Carolyn Fancher decided to make an impact against the disease. They started CancerCure, a membership group for donors who support cancer research at the University of Colorado Cancer Center. In just a dozen years, CancerCure members have raised $1 million through individual gifts.

CancerCure funding has contributed to seed pilot grants for young researchers, summer student cancer fellowships in dozens of research labs and faculty postgraduate fellowships. It has purchased critical research equipment, such as that for UCCC’s DNA and genomic studies, funded a cancer cell biology student and helped support a special melanoma research group. UCCC’s director and associate directors suggest ways to spend the money, and CancerCure approves it.

In fiscal year 2009-2010, CancerCure had 75 patron members and 45 regular members who have given a collective $147, 685. UCCC showed appreciate to these donors at an annual dinner at Barolo Grill in June. Want to become a CancerCure member? Patron memberships require donations of $750 or more, and regular membership donations of $100 to $749.

For more information, please contact Libby Printz, 303-724-3156, libby.printz@cufund.org.

Meet Nancy Stewart, VP of Community Relations

Stewart

Nancy Stewart has joined AMC Cancer Fund as vice president of community relations. Nancy’s focus will be to diversify AMC’s fundraising and community outreach efforts by implementing fundraising events and corporate partnerships and expanding volunteer opportunities.

“AMC has a rich history of creative and innovative cancer prevention and control research,” Stewart said. “We are now dedicated to being a creative and donor centric fundraising partner of the University of Colorado Cancer Center. I am looking forward to helping to build awareness about UCCC in our community.”

Nancy comes to AMC from the March of Dimes, where she oversaw fundraising, special events and volunteer leadership as Denver  division director. She was previously director of resource development for Water for People. She said she looks forward to working with staff and volunteers at AMC, UCCC and its member institutions as we focus on a building a world without cancer.

More AMC News

• AMC Cancer Fund was pleased to host the 2009 National Volunteer Organization Leadership at a retreat Aug. 13-15. NVO members from around the country learned about the latest research being conducted by UCCC scientists and gear up for another year of fun and engaging fundraising activities in their communities.
• The 36th Annual Men’s Event committee is meeting in June to begin planning the 2009 event. Spearheaded by several very prominent community co-chairs, the Men’s Event hopes to raise $100,000 for prostate cancer research and survivorship. The event will be held at Morton’s Steakhouse on Nov. 16, 2009.

Safeway raises $425,000 for UCCC breast cancer research at checkout

Breast cancer research at the University of Colorado Cancer Center received new funding thanks to a generous gift from Safeway. The grocer presented a $425,000 check to the University of Colorado Cancer Center as part of a giving program that raised more than $1 million in Safeway’s five state operating areas. Last year, Safeway gave $200,000 for breast cancer research.

UCCC will use the grant to develop the infrastructure to support very sophisticated breast cancer tissue studies. The studies will be part of collaborative research with a consortium of comprehensive cancer centers to help us learn why some tumors respond to various therapies and others do not.

Anthony Elias, MD, associate director for clinical research at UCCC, accepted the gift and said, “We will be using this generous gift not only to help support our efforts in this consortium, but also to pay for the planning and seed grants necessary to develop multiple collaborative clinical/basic grants including a SPORE (Specialized Programs of Research Excellence) in breast cancer.”

UCCC also will use the grant money to conduct therapeutic clinical trials with women with locally advanced breast cancer.

“The Safeway donation is raised only a few cents at a time at the grocery store’s check-out stand,” said UCCC interim director Tim Byers, MD, PhD. “Shoppers in five states have been asked their willingness to support breast cancer research by ‘rounding up’ their bill to the next dollar. We are incredibly grateful to Safeway and to Safeway’s thousands of generous patrons for this support.”