UCLA’s Seventh Annual ‘Dribble for the Cure’ Set For Sunday, Oct. 26
LOS ANGELES – The seventh annual ‘Dribble for the Cure,’ an event of raising funds and awareness in the fight against pediatric cancer, will once again be held on the UCLA campus on Sunday, Oct. 26. Start time and other event details will be released later this summer.
‘Dribble for the Cure’ has grown every year with a six-year event total of over 4,025 participants contributing nearly $700,000.00 in the battle against children’s cancer. The 2012 event raised a then-record mark of $155,395.74. 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 in the 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 with and obtain autographs from the UCLA women’s and men’s basketball teams. UCLA student-athletes from other Bruin women’s and men’s sports were also present to work and participate in the ‘Dribble.’
“‘Dribble for the Cure’ has become a much anticipated event among our patients, their families and friends,” said Dr. Theodore B. Moore, Chief of the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA. “We are heartened to see this event grow each year and to witness the outpouring of support from the UCLA community of students, staff, patients and families. It is exciting to see how the fund-raising efforts are translated into innovative research going on in the pediatric cancer labs at UCLA, all of which are made possible through the generosity of spirit at ‘Dribble for the Cure.’”
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. Vallely is a two-time stem cell transplant cancer survivor and a 20+-year member of the PCRF Board of Directors. In 1991, John and Karen Vallely lost their daughter Erin to cancer at age 12.
“I am so pleased the ‘Dribble for the Cure’ vision is being shared by so many in our community,” Vallely said. “Imagine enjoying a beautiful day with great people who want to make a difference in the world of pediatric cancer. Please join UCLA Athletics, PCRF, Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA and me on Oct. 26 as we grow ‘Dribble for the Cure.’ This will be our seventh year as we fight to eliminate childhood cancer.”
For more information on the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation, the Cancer Research Program at Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA and the ‘Dribble for the Cure,’ please go to - www.dribbleforthecure.com.