University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Dribble for the Cure Set for Oct. 11
The eighth annual ‘Dribble for the Cure,’ an event of raising money and awareness in the battle against pediatric cancer, will once again be held on the UCLA campus on Sunday, Oct. 11. Start time and other event details will be released later this summer.
Last year’s ‘Dribble for the Cure,’ held Oct. 26, 2014 on the Bruin campus for the fourth consecutive year, set an annual donation record. The event totaled over 550 participants with a record net revenue, including corporate sponsorships, of $177,650. UCLA’s women’s and men’s basketball teams and the UCLA Athletic Department once again joined forces with Bruin men’s basketball great John Vallely, the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation (PCRF) and the Cancer Research Program at Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA for the fund-raising event.
‘Dribble for the Cure’ has grown every year with a seven-year event total of over 4,575 participants contributing over $877,650 in the fight against children’s cancer. Proceeds will help support the treatment for pediatric cancer patients at Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA.
Last year’s event started at Drake Stadium and finished at Collins Court (Wooden Center), as participants dribbled basketballs on a 1.2 mile course across the Bruin campus. At the conclusion of the event, entrants were given a unique opportunity to meet and pose for photographs and obtain autographs from Cori Close’s UCLA women’s and Steve Alford’s Bruin men’s basketball teams. UCLA student-athletes from other Bruin women’s and men’s sports also volunteered to participate in the ‘Dribble.’
“‘Dribble for the Cure’ has become the signature event for patients and families of the Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at UCLA and we look forward to it with great anticipation every year,” said Dr. Theodore B. Moore, Chief of Pediatric Hematology Oncology at Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA. “In partnering with the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation and UCLA Athletics, we have seen advances in the treatment and care of our patients move forward in a constructive way and that is helping our young patients live a better quality of life. The research gains that come from the support we receive through ‘Dribble for the Cure’ gives us all renewed hope for a long and bright future for our young patients. We are tremendously grateful to John and Karen Vallely and the teams at PCRF and UCLA Athletics for their time, energy and commitment to make a difference in the lives of patients and families fighting childhood cancers.”
For many years, Vallely and his family have been on the front line in the battle against cancer. A starting guard on John Wooden’s UCLA 1969 and 1970 NCAA Championship men’s basketball teams, he is a 2006 inductee into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame. In 2002, Vallely was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and is a two-time stem cell/bone marrow transplant survivor. In 1991, John and Karen Vallely lost their daughter Erin to cancer at age 12.
“As we look forward to our eighth annual event, ‘Dribble for the Cure’ will burst through the million dollar donation milestone this year,” said Vallely, former President and current member of the PCRF Board of Directors since 1989. “This achievement is significant because of ‘the effort’ of everyone involved with our event. We are funding top of the line pediatric cancer research. Please sign up as a sponsor, a participant, or form your own team. Join in our fun filled morning as we walk and dribble through the UCLA campus. We will meet the UCLA women’s and men’s basketball teams and enjoy the UCLA band and Bruin cheerleaders, as we change the world for children diagnosed with cancer. I look forward to seeing you on October 11th!”
For more information on the PCRF, the Cancer Research Program at Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA and the Oct. 11, 2015 ‘Dribble for the Cure,’ please go to -- www.dribbleforthecure.com.