fundraising Archives - Sanford Burnham Prebys
Institute News

Padres Pedal the Cause 2023: Team Sanford Burnham Prebys raises $50,000 for cancer research

AuthorMiles Martin
Date

March 20, 2023

Team Sanford Burnham Prebys hit the pavement this weekend for Padres Pedal the Cause, an annual fundraising event that invites participants to cycle, spin, run or walk to support local cancer research. The funds raised through each year’s race go to seed grants that fund collaborative cancer research projects in San Diego.

“Padres Pedal the Cause is a chance for the cancer community to come together and remember why collaboration is so important in cancer research,” says bike rider Ze’ev Ronai, PhD, director of the Institute’s NCI-designated Cancer Center. “Virtually all of us know somebody who has been impacted by cancer, including me. This is my fifth Padres Pedal the Cause, and every year I’m so proud to be part of our Institute’s team and help contribute to cancer research outside the lab.”

This year’s team was formidable: 56 employees and friends of the Institute signed up to either ride, run, or walk in the event. Team members came from all areas of the Institute, including faculty, staff scientists, administrative staff, postdocs, and even current and former members of the Institute’s Board of Trustees, such as Bill Gerhart and Steve Williams. Other notable names on this year’s team included longtime participants such as Professor Nicholas Cosford, PhD and James Short, associate director of Digital Communications and Design. 

“I’ve been with Padres Pedal the Cause since the very beginning, and it’s one of the highlights of my year,” says Short, who has helped lead the Institute’s team for the last 10 years.

The team also included some new members this year, such as Assistant Professor Lukas Chavez, PhD, and Director of Experimental Pharmacology Raghu Ramachandra, PhD, who both joined the Institute late last year. 

While Institute employees were well represented on this year’s team, there were also current some of the team’s top fundraisers had a different reason to join team Sanford Burnham Prebys. Kim McKewon is a longtime donor to the Institute and has been participating in Padres Pedal the Cause since its inception in 2013. This year she raised more than $6,000; and to date, she has raised more than $30,000. 

“I pedal for my husband, Ray, who is in remission from leukemia because of science and research, the very focus of the grants that are given from the fundraising that comes out of this event,” she writes in her website bio.

It’s not too late to support Team Sanford Burnham Prebys
To date, team Sanford Burnham Prebys has raised more than $300,000 through Padres Pedal the Cause since its inception in 2013. And while this year’s ride is over, there is always time to support local cancer research. The fundraising deadline for this year’s Padre’s Pedal the Cause is April 18, and 100% of every dollar raised goes toward lifesaving cancer research. Help team Sanford Burnham Prebys create a world without cancer.

Support Team Sanford Burnham Prebys

 

 

Institute News

Padres Pedal the Cause 2022: Team Sanford Burnham Prebys raises more than $21,000 for cancer research

AuthorMiles Martin
Date

April 13, 2022

And there’s still time to give

Each year a team from Sanford Burnham Prebys hits the pavement as part of Padres Pedal the Cause, an annual event that invites participants to cycle, spin, run or walk to support local cancer research. This year’s team was small but mighty, raising more than $21,000 to fund collaborative cancer research projects in the San Diego area. 

Including the money raised by the Sanford Burnham Prebys team, Padres Pedal the Cause has raised more than $2.8 million this year so far. These funds will be distributed as grants to support collaborations between six participating research organizations: the Salk Institute, Scripps Research, Rady Children’s Hospital, UC San Diego, the La Jolla Institute, as well as Sanford Burnham Prebys. 

“This is more than just a fundraising event; it’s also a chance to connect with the cancer community and reflect on the importance of teamwork in cancer research,” says rider Ze’ev Ronai, PhD, director of the Institute’s NCI-designated Cancer Center. “I’ve done the race for four years, and every year it makes me proud to be on team Sanford Burnham Prebys.”

Besides Ronai, notable Institute names on the team this year included Thomas Chung, PhD, director of Translational Programs Outreach at the Conrad Prebys Center for Chemical Genomics; and Scott Tocher, general counsel and vice president of Communications. In addition to the riders, event volunteers from Sanford Burnham Prebys included Michaela Andrews, Araceli Ambert, Mariela Castanares, David Scott, Susan Goho and Katherine Kling.

“We don’t have a huge team, but we always have a great one,” says team captain Adrienne Crown, JD, director of Administration at the Cancer Center and director of Compliance and Operations for the Institute, “I’m so proud that just a few people are able to help make such a big impact.”

Padres Pedal the Cause Sanford Burnham Prebys volunteers
Kim McKewon

The top fundraiser on this year’s team was not an employee of the Institute but is still very much a friend of Sanford Burnham Prebys. Kim McKewon is a longtime donor to the Institute and has been participating in Padres Pedal the Cause since its inception in 2013. This year she raised more than $6,000; and to date, she has raised more than $30,000. In her website bio, she writes that she pedals for her husband, Ray, who is in remission from leukemia.

“Kim is one of the superstars of our team, and we are so thrilled that she was able to ride with us again this year,” adds James Short, Crown’s co-captain and director of Digital Design at the Institute.

And although the event itself is over, the ride is not. The deadline for fundraising is May 9, and 100% of every dollar raised goes toward lifesaving cancer research. Help team Sanford Burnham Prebys create a world without cancer.

Support Team Sanford Burnham Prebys

Institute News

Mark your calendars: Padres Pedal the Cause is back

AuthorMiles Martin
Date

January 20, 2022

Sanford Burnham Prebys is gearing up for next year’s Padres Pedal the Cause (PPTC), an annual fundraising race that invites participants to cycle, spin, run or walk to support cancer research in the San Diego area. The event, scheduled for April 9, 2022, at Petco Park, is currently planned to be held in person for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic.

Leveraging the power of San Diego
PPTC was founded in 2013 by two-time lymphoma survivor Bill Koman and his wife, Amy. Thankful for the lifesaving care that Bill received, the Koman family was determined to pay it forward to ensure that others had the same outcome. With this goal in mind, the couple created PPTC, a cancer fundraising cycling challenge operating in partnership with the San Diego Padres.

Since the inaugural ride of PPTC, the organization has raised more than $15 million and funded 73 collaborative research projects in San Diego, including six clinical trials. They’ve also expanded and grown, merging with the Immunotherapy Foundation under a new name: Curebound.

Together, these two organizations share the belief that discovering a cure for cancer can be made possible by harnessing the unique power of San Diego—home to three nationally recognized National Institutes of Health cancer institutions and a renowned pediatric hospital. Last year, Curebound welcomed two new research partners: La Jolla Institute for Immunology and Scripps Research. They join Sanford Burnham Prebys, Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego, the Salk Institute, and Rady Children’s Hospital in collaborating to accelerate cancer research into cures.

A pivotal year for Padres Pedal the Cause
This is an important year for PPTC. After a record-breaking event in 2019—which had almost 3,000 participants and raised more than $3 million—COVID-19 presented challenges. The next PPTC event wasn’t held until spring 2021, moving to a virtual format due to the pandemic.

That event had 1,578 participants and raised $1.5 million. And while these numbers demonstrate the commitment of the Pedal the Cause community to continue their good work despite the pandemic, the amount is less than that received for the 2019 event, demonstrating the obstacles the community faced to raise those funds.

Now, PPTC is ready to ride at full speed for the first time in more than two years.

Join Team Sanford Burnham Prebys
Padres Pedal the Cause ’22 will take place on April 9, 2022, at Petco Park, and registration is now open for the Sanford Burnham Prebys team. Whether you’re ready to ride, run, walk, spin, participate virtually or even just cheer from the sidelines, 100% of every dollar raised funds lifesaving cancer research.

Ride with Sanford Burnham Prebys this April, and help us create a world without cancer.

Join Team Sanford Burnham Prebys

Institute News

Sanford Burnham Prebys joins the fight to end cancer at Padres Pedal the Cause fundraiser

AuthorMonica May
Date

November 18, 2019

Nearly everyone knows someone who has been affected by cancer: One in three Americans will be diagnosed in their lifetime. In San Diego, it’s the number one cause of death.

With the goal of improving these statistics, on November 16, 2019, more than 50 scientists, staff and supporters of Sanford Burnham Prebys joined thousands of fellow cancer fighters—including former Padre Tony Gwynn Jr. and San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer—at the seventh annual Padres Pedal the Cause (PPTC) fundraiser. Together, team Sanford Burnham Prebys raised more than $30,000 to accelerate collaborative cancer research taking place in San Diego.

Launched in 2013, the annual fundraiser has since expanded from a cycling-only event to include a 5K run or walk and stationary spin classes. To date, the event has raised more than $10 million to accelerate cancer cures, with 100% of the proceeds funding collaborative research taking place at four San Diego research institutes, including Sanford Burnham Prebys. Past PPTC grants have advanced our Institute’s research into cancers of the breast, skin, brain, colon, pancreas and more.

This year’s event had an ambitious goal of raising $3.3 million. Fundraising will continue until December 7, 2019; the final amount raised will be revealed on January 30, 2020, at a special check-presentation ceremony.

Want to help Padres Pedal the Cause meet its fundraising goal? Donate today.

Institute News

Getting groovy for a good cause at Bring It!

AuthorMonica May
Date

May 9, 2019

From the moment guests stepped into the disco-lit room, it was clear Bring It! was not your typical fundraiser. 

Donned in bell bottoms, sequined bodysuits and platformed heels, this year’s guests sampled hors d’oeuvre’s supplied by roller-blading servers and grooved to classics such as “Stayin’ Alive” and “Dancing Queen.” 

The 70’s-themed event, held on May 2, 2019, at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, drew a crowd of more than 400 attendees—the largest yet—a testament to the hard work and dedication of co-chairs Juli Oh and Matt Browne, and Sarah and David Szekeres. John Weisbarth, host of Tiny House Nation and San Diego native, emceed the event for the third year in a row.

While fun was had by all, the night’s mission was never far from anyone’s mind: fundraising for our Institute’s work to find cures for diseases such as Alzheimer’s, cancer, heart disease, diabetes and more. 

Co-chair Sarah Szekeres shared her personal story about why research is important to her: “Learning I have the BRCA2 gene mutation, which puts me at a greater risk of breast and ovarian cancer, has been an overwhelming and frightening experience for me and my family. It’s through basic research that we will develop effective medicines or tests that prevent, diagnose or treat disease—and create a future where my daughter, and her children and grandchildren, aren’t afraid of cancer or Alzheimer’s or the many serious diseases our society faces today.”

Guests vied for an opportunity to participate in onstage competitions—a spot so coveted it was raffled to the highest bidder. Top-scoring teams partook in absurdly hilarious games, such as “Hungry Hungry Human,” where guests attempted to collect plastic balls from an inflated pool while wheeled on a dolly; and “Rocky,” where participants furiously boxed and ran in place to reach the most steps on a pedometer. Despite wearing wigs and hats, contestants even braved a bobbing-for-apples style competition involving candy encased in a Jello Mold.

Altogether, Bring It! certainly puts the “fun” in “fundraising needs.” We hope to see you next year—stay tuned for more details about the date and theme of the event.  

We are extremely grateful to the event’s generous sponsors, including Alexandria Realty, Heron Therapeutics, Marleigh and Alan Gleicher, Cooley, Marilena and Greg Lucier, Retrophin, Domain Associates, Robin and Hank Nordhoff, Jeanne Herberger, PhD, Moon Valley Nurseries, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Luke and Elizabeth Bonacci, Sarah and David Szekeres, Jonell and Gregory Tibbitts, Court and Julie Turner, Dulcy and Mason Matthies, Josie and Jim Myers, Marie Simmons, Arena Pharmaceuticals, BDO, CBRE, Creative Fusion, Cushman & Wakefield, IDT, Deloittte & Touche, Farrell Family Foundation, iProtean, KPMG, Johnson & Johnson, Marsh & McLennan Agency, Neurocrine Biosciences, Oxford Finance, Pegasus Building Services, UnionBank, Cabrillo Advisors, Square1bank and USI Insurance Services. 

Watch a fun-filled KUSI segment about the event. 

Head to our Facebook page to view event photos; search #BringIt19 to find more content. 

Interested in keeping up with our latest discoveries, upcoming events and more? Subscribe to our monthly newsletter, Discoveries.

Institute News

Padres Pedal the Cause presents record-breaking check for nearly $3 million to fund local cancer research

AuthorMonica May
Date

January 29, 2019

Local cancer research just got a big boost. 

On Thursday, January 24, SBP president Kristiina Vuori, MD, PhD, joined leaders from Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health, Salk Institute for Biological Studies and Rady Children’s Hospital–San Diego to help Padres Pedal the Cause (PPTC) reveal that this year’s event raised a record-breaking $2.9 million for local cancer research. The leaders joined executive director Anne Marbarger onstage to receive the official check. 

This year’s event—which invited participates to cycle, spin, run or walk—had more than 2,500 participants, an increase of 35 percent. Total fundraising grew by 22 percent. SBP has participated in the event since its inception; and this year our team of more than 60 scientists, staff and SBP supporters raised more than $30,000 for the cause. Since the inaugural ride six years ago, PPTC has raised more than $10 million.

Nearly 300 of the event’s participants, including Tony Gwynn Jr., Pedal founders Bill and Amy Koman, San Diego business leaders, and top donors and fundraisers, gathered at the Del Mar racetrack to witness the funding reveal and check presentation in person. 

Gwynn shared a moving story about his father’s battle with salivary cancer, a journey he still finds difficult to recount. “If he saw this progress, he would be smiling today,” he said. 

A full 100 percent of the proceeds fund collaborative research taking place at the four San Diego research institutes. Past PPTC grants have accelerated SBP’s research into cancers of the breast, skin, brain, colon, pancreas and more. This year’s grant announcement will be revealed in the spring. 

In the meantime, make sure to mark your calendars for the 2019 event, which will take place on Saturday, November 16. Registration will open in mid-April.

Interested in keeping up with SBP’s latest discoveries, upcoming events and more? Subscribe to our monthly newsletter, Discoveries. 

Institute News

SBP researchers awarded Padres Pedal the Cause collaborative grants

AuthorSusan Gammon
Date

July 31, 2017

Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Research (SBP) is pleased to announce that it has been awarded five collaborative grants with the Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health. The collaborative research projects are focused on cancers including B-cell lymphomas, colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer and breast cancer. The awards are part of the $750,000 being distributed from proceeds raised by the 2016 cycling event.

“I am proud of our scientists and our partnership with Padres Pedal the Cause,” says Garth Powis, D. Phil., director of SBP’s NCI-designated Cancer Center. “Since its inception, Pedal the Cause has focused on creating a community event that engages cyclists and volunteers to raise money to advance innovative cancer research. We look forward to using these grants to make advances in our labs that will hopefully impact the health of cancer patients now and in the future.”

In November 2016, more than 1,500 riders, hundreds of volunteers, donors and sponsors took part in the cycling event. SBP was pleased to host water station for riders during the event, and many riders even stopped to take fun photos in front of our SBP bright orange backdrop.

SBP’s funded projects are listed below:

“Oncogenic Regulation of B-Lymphomagenesis by the Chromatin Modulator DOT1L”
Bing Ren, PhD (Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health) Aniruddha Deshpande, PhD (Sanford Burnham Prebys Cancer Center)

“Decoding Colon Cancers Using Boolean Principles”
Pradipta Ghosh, MD (Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health) Debashis Sahoo, PhD (Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health), Manuel Perucho, PhD (Sanford Burnham Prebys Cancer Center)

“An Over-Expressed GPCR in Pancreatic Cancer Associated Fibroblasts as a Novel Therapeutic Target”
Paul Insel, MD (Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health) Kristiina Vuori, MD, PhD (Sanford Burnham Prebys Cancer Center)

“Identification of Genes Critical for the Production of T-cells from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells for Development of “Off-the-Shelf” T-cells Immunotherapies”
Dan S. Kaufman, MD, PhD (Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health) Sumit K. Chanda, PhD (Sanford Burnham Prebys Cancer Center)

“Targeting Cellular Mechanotransduction in Breast Cancer Metastasis”
Jing Yang, PhD (Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health) Elena Pasquale, PhD (Sanford Burnham Prebys Cancer Center)

The fifth annual Padres Pedal the Cause event takes place November 11-12, 2017, at Petco Park and will feature courses of various distances for all skill levels, a stationary bike zone, virtual riding, a children’s ride as well as numerous volunteer opportunities for all those who want to make a difference in the fight against cancer.

Registration for the 2017 event is open. New this year, Padres Pedal is only the second cycling event to ride over the Coronado Bay Bridge.

For more information and registration please visit www.gopedal.org

Join us on this year’s ride as a rider or volunteer. We’d love to have you on the team!

Institute News

At Pedal the Cause, Team SBP rode 787 miles for cancer research in San Diego

AuthorJessica Moore
Date

November 16, 2016

Over a blisteringly hot November weekend, scientists, staff, and supporters of Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute came together to support the fight against cancer. They participated in the fourth annual Pedal the Cause bike ride and fundraising event that raised over $1.6 million. The money will be used to fund joint collaborative cancer research projects among scientists from SBP, the Salk, Rady Children’s Hospital and Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego.

Our team’s nine riders biked a collective 787 miles over hilly terrain, raising almost $17,000. Some, like graduate student Marisa Sanchez, were inspired to ride by their personal experience with cancer. “I ride to honor my sister, Alessandra, who we lost to cancer four years ago,” said Sanchez in a video interview. “Research is crucial to advance cancer care—the treatments that are being developed now might have saved her life.”

Team SBP also ran a refueling station, where our volunteers helped the event’s 1,500 riders take a much needed break Sunday morning. In addition to water, snacks, and shade, the SBP station provided a fun disco-themed photo booth, complete with 70s-era tunes, in honor of the Institute’s 40th anniversary.

Local news station CW6 was on site to interview riders and scientists, including SBP’s Cosimo Commisso, PhD, assistant professor in the NCI-designated Cancer Center, who emphasized the importance of adequate funding to accelerate progress towards cures.

Commisso was part of a team that was awarded a grant from Pedal the Cause in 2014. That collaboration with Geoffrey Wahl, PhD, at the Salk and Andrew Lowy, MD, at Moores Cancer Center focused on pancreatic cancer, the most deadly common cancer in the U.S., and yielded breakthrough findings that could lead to a new treatment approach. The money raised this year will support similarly innovative, high-impact research that can be rapidly translated into new hope for cancer patients.

Institute News

“No surrender” to CDG

AuthorHelen I. Hwang
Date

September 9, 2016

From a farmhouse in rural Iowa, Crystal Vittetoe is fighting for her two babies afflicted with congenital disorders of glycosylation, known as CDG. She and her family have raised over $37,000 from a single fundraiser, and the donations keep coming in. “If we don’t fight for research, we are surrendering to CDG,” says Vittetoe.

“What Crystal has done for our research at the Institute is incredible. She’s raised enough money to pay for half a postdoc’s salary to do research for one year, and now we need to find the other half,” says Hudson Freeze, PhD, director of the Human Genetics Program at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP). “We have so many projects we start and want to complete. We need more hands on the projects. And if a family needs help, we don’t turn anybody away,” he says.

CDG is a collection of genetic diseases that causes mental and physical developmental issues, which leads to severe damage to multiple organs like the liver, heart and intestines.

The Vittetoes have two young children with CDG—two-year-old daughter Everlee (in the photo above) and one-year-old son Breckyn. Vittetoe drove from Iowa to SBP in La Jolla, Calif., for the annual Rare Disease Day Symposium at SBP. There, she met other families, scientists, doctors as well as Freeze to learn about the latest research and treatments that can help their kids cope with her illness. Worldwide, there are less than 1,500 known cases of CDG where children are born with the genetic disorders.

Vittetoe realized from the family’s visit to SBP that much more research was needed to figure out why CDG happens and how to lessen the her children’s suffering. She was inspired to raise money for the Rocket Fund, in honor of John Taylor (Rocket) Williams IV who would’ve turned 10 years old this year. Sadly, he passed away at the age of two.

In the past year, Everlee has been hospitalized six times. During one episode, she was having an hourly seizure for 24 hours with the last one enduring for 3.5 hours. “It’s so stressful, no matter if she’s having a stroke-like episode or just needs fluids,” says Vittetoe.

With the help of family and friends, Vittetoe held a dinner and silent auction at Lebowski’s Rock ‘N Bowl in her hometown of Washington, Iowa with a population of just over 7,000. The three-hour inaugural event raised a phenomenal amount of money that even surprised Vittetoe. “We were blown away,” she said.

The bar donated 15% of the tab and a friend, who’s also a singer, volunteered the entertainment. Over 300 people contributed to a free-will dinner donation for delicious pork loin from the family’s hog farm and scrumptious sides whipped up by the children’s grandmother.

Substantial seed donations, along with gifts from local businesses, raised an enormous amount of funds at the silent auction. The Vittetoes have been farming in Iowa for generations, and Crystal’s husband Jonathan approached the local seed dealers who all said “yes” to helping out the kids. And of course, neighborhood farmers came to support the Vittetoes who always need seed for their crops.

People contributed checks from $10 to $5,000, and every dollar counted. Other families with CDG children drove over six hours from as far away as Minnesota and Illinois to show their support.

The giving doesn’t just stop with the fundraiser hosted by the Vittetoe family. Recently Crystal’s grandfather passed away in Colorado and the family asked for memorial donations to the Rocket Fund.

Vittetoe says, “It’s your babies and if you don’t do something, you’re just waving the white flag. We’re not waving the white flag. We just want to do something for them.”

Note:

The next SBP Rare Disease Day Symposium will be held on February 24, 2017. The day-long event will focus on Alagille syndrome, a genetic disorder that causes liver damage due to abnormalities in the bile ducts, which carry waste from the liver to the gallbladder and small intestine. For more information, click here.

Photo credit: Drish Photography.