Cycle For Survival Celebrates 10 Years of West Coast Events With World Cancer Day Fundraising Campaign
Posted: February 4, 2020 in Chains
Cycle For Survival
NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Brave Like Gabe Foundation is sponsoring a $100,000 donation challenge to commemorate World Cancer Day and celebrate 10 years of Cycle for Survival events on the West Coast. The Foundation’s generous gift will inspire increased giving by offering Cycle for Survival participants in California and Seattle an online donation match from February 4 – 7. The Brave Like Gabe foundation also has teams of riders participating at the Seattle and San Francisco events this year. Every dollar raised by Cycle for Survival goes to rare cancer research and clinical trials led by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK).
“Brave Like Gabe” started as a hashtag to support professional runner Gabriele “Gabe” Grunewald as she sought treatment for her third battle with an incurable rare salivary gland cancer in 2017. As a professional runner and rare cancer advocate, Gabe founded the Brave Like Gabe foundation to make a difference in the cancer community. During her journey, Gabe experienced firsthand many of the challenges faced by rare cancer patients and the need for dedicated research funding. The Brave Like Gabe fund at MSK was established in 2019 in her honor.
Gabe first participated in Cycle for Survival events in 2018 and quickly became an extraordinary ambassador for the movement. Her message of perseverance and hope touched everyone who met her. Gabe died in June 2019, just a few months after she shared her story as a featured Cycle for Survival speaker. Her legacy continues to encourage others to share their own struggles, and to fundraise to find better and more effective treatments for rare cancers.
“Cycle for Survival gave Gabriele a platform for her story of hope and fearlessness,” said Justin Grunewald, Gabe’s husband. “Every time she gave a talk, you could hear a pin drop. Every time she finished, everyone was infused with hope. We met so many wonderful people and became a part of the Cycle for Survival family, which we will be forever.”
Cycle for Survival, the movement to beat rare cancers, has raised more than $235 million for rare cancer research since it was founded in 2007, with more than 50% of that total raised in the last three years. Participants across the country will join the annual high-energy team indoor cycling events in January, February and March.
About half of all people facing cancer are battling a rare form of the disease. Rare cancers include brain, ovarian, pancreatic, leukemia, lymphoma, all pediatric cancers and many others. Research into these diseases is largely underfunded, which often leaves patients with few or no treatment options. As doctors and researchers pursue new treatments, Cycle for Survival provides urgently needed funding. To read about research breakthroughs made possible because of Cycle for Survival funding, go to cycleforsurvival.org/what-you-fund or visit cycleforsurvival.org to learn more.
