UCLA's Seventh Annual Dribble for the Cure Sets Donation Record
LOS ANGELES - UCLA’s Dribble for the Cure event set an annual donation record with $177,650 raised toward pediatric cancer research on Sunday, Oct. 26. Over 550 participants turned out for Sunday morning’s event, teaming with corporate sponsorships to produce a record-breaking donation figure.
The annual UCLA Athletics event, joined by former UCLA basketball alumnus and Bruins’ Hall of Famer John Vallely, helps to raise funds along with the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation (PCRF) and the Cancer Research Program at Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA each year.
Dribble for the Cure has grown each year, as its seven-year cumulative event total of over 4,575 participants have contributed over $877,650 in the fight against children’s cancer. The 2013 event raised a then-record mark of $167,000, breaking previous donation-high totals of $155,395 in 2012 and $115,000 in 2011. Proceeds help support the treatment of pediatric cancer patients at Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA.
Starting at Drake Stadium and finishing at Collins Court (Wooden Center), participants dribbled basketballs on a 1.2 mile course across the Bruin campus. At the conclusion of the event, participants were given a unique opportunity to meet, pose for photographs and obtain autographs from the 2014-15 UCLA women’s and men’s basketball teams. Bruin student-athletes from additional UCLA women’s and men’s sports were also present to volunteer and participate in the Dribble for the Cure.
Honorary captains were Leonard Evans (age 13), Jaxon Blumenthal (age 12), Kenny Thomas (age 10), Zachary Patterson (age 7) and Alexa Kohler (age 6), all pediatric cancer survivors who are treated at Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA.
“The team in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology is extraordinarily appreciative of the efforts of the hundreds of participants who turn out for ‘Dribble for the Cure’ each passing year,” said Dr. Theodore B. Moore, Chief of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA. “Without them and the organizing teams from UCLA Athletics and the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation, we would be lacking the resources to develop many of the innovative research ideas of our faculty that target aggressive cancers in children. We applaud all of the participants who support this event and make it the success it is every year. Our honorary captains – Leonard, Kenny, Jaxon, Zachary and Alexa – show us all what can be done as a result of this collective effort. All of our patients and families benefit greatly from the work that is produced as a result of this effort and from the hope that it brings to their lives.”
Jeri Wilson, Executive Director of the PCRF, with appreciation and respect spoke to all those who are involved and contributed to Dribble for the Cure.
“Children diagnosed with pediatric cancer represent about one percent of the oncology population, but they are 100 percent of our future,” Wilson said. “The Dribble gives families a way to support these children and give the families hope.”
For Steve Alford, entering his second season as the UCLA men’s basketball head coach, this was also his second Dribble for the Cure event.
“There’s no better sound than that of basketballs bouncing around the UCLA campus, as hundreds of people donate and participate in Dribble for the Cure,” Alford said. “For our basketball team and program, being involved in the Dribble since its inception is very meaningful and rewarding. Setting another donation record is a tribute to all those involved, as we continue our battle against children’s cancer.”
The UCLA women’s basketball program has been involved with the Dribble since 2009 and for women’s head coach Cori Close, this was her fourth Dribble event.
“Dribble for the Cure is a true Bruin community event,” Close said. “It’s a privilege and honor for our team to participate in the Dribble, to meet the Honorary Captains and to help raise money for such a worthy cause. It’s wonderful news that once again, a donation record has been set in the fight against pediatric cancer.”
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 Athletic Hall of Fame. Vallely is a two-time stem cell transplant cancer survivor and a 25-year member of the PCRF Board of Directors. In 1991, John and Karen Vallely lost their daughter Erin to cancer at the age of 12.
“Dribble for the Cure has set another record for participants and fundraising,” Vallely said. “Coach Wooden used to say, 'You cannot live a perfect day without doing something for someone else whom you know cannot repay you.’ Last Sunday, all the donors, sponsors, participants and volunteers got to live a ‘perfect day.’ It felt like 'Nothing but net!,’ a term we use for making a shot in the game of basketball. We are changing the world for children who fight an enemy they cannot see. I'm very grateful to all of you who contribute to this event. I'm honored to be part of this great team. I feel it today – nothing but net! Thank you everyone!”
Corporate sponsors for year’s event included Whole Foods, Polly's Pies Restaurant, BJ's Restaurant Foundation, Los Angeles Trial Lawyers' Charities (LATLC), Shulman, Hodges & Bastian, Smart & Final Charitable Foundation, Beacon Pointe Wealth Advisors, LLC, Greenburg Glusker, Karen and John Vallely in honor of Erin, Phil Steinberg, Senior Aerospace Ketema, The Chasman Family, 4.8 Productions, LLC and Where Were You When…?.
Polly’s Pies Restaurant is owned by Eddie Sheldrake, who was a UCLA guard/forward on Coach Wooden’s first three Bruin men’s basketball teams (1949-51).In 2000, Sheldrake was inducted into the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame.
2014 Dribble for the Cure Top Individual Fundraisers and Team Totals
1. Zachary Senator, over $22,000 raised/Team Jackson, over $32,000 raised (organized by his brother, Jackson, to cancer at the age of eight).
2. Jaxon Blumenthal, over $19,000 raised/Team Ace, over $21,000 raised.
3. Wayne Kamemoto, over $15,000 raised/Team Kamemoto, over $17,000 raised.
4. Ryan Bley, over $12,000 raised.