The V Foundation for Cancer Research, a top-rated cancer research charity founded by ESPN and Jim Valvano, is pleased to announce a collaboration with the Miami Dolphins, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami and ESPN to support important cancer research.
“Much of our support at the V Foundation is for athletes, teams, leagues and fans,” said Susan Braun, CEO of the V Foundation. “This program with the Dolphins and the NFL helps the V Foundation expand our reach, funding life-saving research. Each day, we follow Jim Valvano’s legendary words, ‘don’t give up . . . don’t ever give up!’”
The Dolphins are proud to host the Dolphins Cancer Challenge (DCC), with a mission to improve people’s lives through financial support for innovative cancer research at South Florida’s only academic-based cancer center – Sylvester. Since its inception, the DCC has raised more than $22.5 million, donating 100 percent of participant-raised funds to research. The DCC continues to solidify its position as the largest event fundraiser in the NFL.
Through the new partnership, the DCC will contribute $100,000 to the V Foundation during the month of December. The funds will be matched by the V Foundation for an Early Career Investigator grant to be awarded at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. The partnership will bring V Foundation resources to the South Florida-area to fund an emerging researcher in the Dolphins’ community.
“We’re proud of the work we have done in the South Florida community to raise critical funds for cancer research,” Dolphins Cancer Challenge Executive Director Jennifer Jehn said. “The DCC is committed to funding researchers and specialists to discover, develop and deliver more targeted therapies leading to the best patient outcomes. This grant will fund an early career researcher at Sylvester who is committed just as we are at the Dolphins to tackling cancer.”
To highlight the collaboration, ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown on Dec. 11 will feature video from a recent Dolphins practice, where a cancer patient, a survivor and their doctor from Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center met with Dolphins players and ESPN commentators, Sean McDonough and Lisa Salters.
“Sylvester and the Miami Dolphins have had a deepening partnership for years, to raise much-needed cancer research dollars that directly benefit our community,” said Stephen D. Nimer, M.D., director of Sylvester. “We are extremely grateful for the involvement of the V Foundation, and its support in helping recognize and enhance the work of one of our most promising young investigators. This support advances our field in ways that help us serve our patients.”
The Dolphins initiative will fund a V Foundation Early Career Investigator grant to support a young tenure-track researcher early in her/his career by funding projects that are either laboratory-based fundamental research or translational research.
During December, the V Foundation’s blog, In Their Own Words, will feature content related to Sylvester’s investigator grant and the collaboration between the V Foundation, the Miami Dolphins and ESPN.
“Pairing up the V Foundation with the Dolphins and Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center in the fight against cancer was a natural choice,” said Kevin Martinez, ESPN’s Vice President of Corporate Citizenship. “Our viewers will be excited to see the V Foundation is making an impact in local NFL communities.”
The Dolphins join the Kansas City Chiefs as the second NFL team to help advance the V Foundation’s goal of achieving victory over cancer.
Follow the V Foundation on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to see more from the collaboration. For more information about the V Foundation, its grant program, or to donate, please visit www.jimmyv.org.
About ESPN
ESPN, the world’s leading sports entertainment company, features more than 50 assets – eight U.S. television networks, ESPN International, ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, ESPN The Magazine, and more. ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc. (an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company) and 20 percent by Hearst.
About the Dolphins Cancer Challenge
The Dolphins Cancer Challenge (DCC) was founded in 2010 by the Miami Dolphins organization as the signature initiative of the Foundation’s health pillar. The DCC’s mission is to improve people’s lives through financial support for innovative cancer research at South Florida’s only academic-based cancer center – Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami. Since its inception, the DCC has raised more than $22.5 million, donating 100 percent of participant-raised funds to Sylvester. For additional information, visit DolphinsCancerChallenge.
About Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center
Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of UHealth – the University of Miami Health System and the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, is among the nation’s leading cancer centers and South Florida’s only Cancer Center of Excellence. A 2015 study by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, showed that cancer patients treated at Sylvester have a 10 percent higher chance of survival than those treated at nearly any other cancer center in the nation. With the combined strength of more than 120 cancer researchers and 130 cancer specialists, Sylvester discovers, develops and delivers more targeted therapies, providing the next generation of cancer clinical care – precision cancer medicine – to each patient. Our comprehensive diagnostics, coupled with teams of scientific and clinical experts who specialize in just one type of cancer, enable us to better understand each patient’s individual cancer and develop treatments that target the cells and genes driving the cancer’s growth and survival, leading to better outcomes. At Sylvester, patients have access to more treatment options and more cancer clinical trials than most hospitals in the southeastern United States. To better serve current and future patients, Sylvester has a network of conveniently located outpatient treatment facilities in Miami, Coral Gables, Kendall, Hollywood, Plantation, Deerfield Beach and Coral Springs. For more information, visit Sylvester.org.
