Garth Powis, who heads our NCI-designated Cancer Center, joined representatives from the beneficiary institutes onstage for the check presentation ceremony.
Padres Pedal the Cause (PPTC) hit it out of the ballpark, revealing that its 2019 event at Petco Park raised a record $3.1 million to accelerate local cancer research.
The amount, revealed in an evening ceremony held on Thursday, February 6, brings the total raised to $13.2 million. Garth Powis, D. Phil., director of Sanford Burnham Prebys’ National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Cancer Center—one of only seven in the nation—joined representatives from the beneficiary institutes onstage for the check presentation ceremony.
The audience in the packed auditorium gave the news a standing ovation. Most guests, who included hundreds of event participants, San Diego business leaders, top donors and fundraisers, as well as Padres Pedal founders Bill and Amy Koman, have firsthand experience with cancer—the number-one cause of death in San Diego.
Typically held in November, PPTC features multiple cycling courses, a 5K run or walk, spin classes and kid-friendly activities. The number of participants has steadily increased since the event’s launch in 2013—reaching an all-time high of nearly 3,000 individuals last year.
The nonprofit’s goal is to leverage the incredible strengths of San Diego—home to three nationally recognized NIH cancer institutions and a renowned pediatric hospital—to bring us closer to cancer cures. Each PPTC grant unites scientists at two or more of the four beneficiary institutions, which include Sanford Burnham Prebys, Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health, Rady Children’s Hospital and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Past grants have accelerated our research into cancers of the breast, skin, brain, colon, pancreas and more.
The 2020 event date will be revealed in mid-April. Visit www.gopedal.org for the latest details.