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07/31/2007 6:56 PM ET
The Los Angeles Dodgers, the McCourt family, City of Hope and Childrens Hospital Los Angeles launch ThinkCure cancer research fund
Jamie and Frank McCourt to match the first $1 million in donations
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LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Dodgers, the McCourt Family, City of Hope and Childrens Hospital Los Angeles today jointly announced the launch of ThinkCure, a non-profit charitable organization dedicated to raising funds for critical cancer research at these two hospitals and ultimately to finding a cure for cancer. With today's announcement, ThinkCure will become the official charity of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
"With ThinkCure, we are creating a civic entity dedicated to raising the funds necessary to find a cure for cancer," said Dodger Owner and Chairman Frank McCourt. "Ideally, like the Dodgers, ThinkCure will become the property and concern, not of its founding sponsors alone, but rather the entire Los Angeles community. ThinkCure will help provide the financial resources necessary for City of Hope and Childrens Hospital Los Angeles to develop the treatments - and cures - of tomorrow."
"Cancer research is increasingly leading to new, better and safer treatments for adults and children and gives everyone hope for a cure," said Stephen J. Forman, M.D., the Francis and Kathleen McNamara Distinguished Chair in Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, City of Hope. "We are so pleased to be working with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Childrens Hospital Los Angeles to establish ThinkCure as partners in this quest."
"The physician-scientists, nurses and other caregivers at the Childrens Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles are absolutely thrilled to join City of Hope and the Los Angeles Dodgers in working together to extend the hope of a cure to all children and adults battling cancer," said Stuart E. Siegel, M.D., Division Head of Hematology-Oncology and the Director of the Childrens Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.
ThinkCure is following in the footsteps of a similar partnership between a beloved sports franchise and those dedicated to finding a cure for cancer. The Jimmy Fund, launched in 1948 by the Boston Braves (later the official charity of the Boston Red Sox) and the Variety Club of New England, in conjunction with Dr. Sidney Farber (founder of the first hospital unit devoted exclusively to caring for children with cancer), is one of the most enduring and successful
charities of its kind. The McCourt family has been associated with the Jimmy Fund since its inception when Frank McCourt's grandfather Francis McCourt was a co-owner of the Boston Braves.
"We are on the brink of turning cancer into a chronic disease," said Mike Andrews, Chairman, The Jimmy Fund. "With the Dana Farber Cancer Research Institute here in Boston and City of Hope and Childrens Hospital Los Angeles on the West Coast and what other centers are doing around the world, we are getting closer by the minute and ThinkCure will have a huge impact on that success."
Partnership between City of Hope and Childrens Hospital Los Angeles
City of Hope and Childrens Hospital Los Angeles are actively working together to develop new approaches to treat cancer.
Scientists at both institutions are collaborating to better understand and treat brain tumors, leukemia, neuroblastoma and other cancers. And researchers in bone marrow transplantation at City of Hope and Childrens Hospital Los Angeles have joined forces to look for cures for children and adults with cancer. They are also developing clinical trials to evaluate new immune therapies to improve cancer treatments.
Both institutions belong to the Children's Oncology Group, a network of top institutions that evaluate new drugs and treatments throughout the nation. In addition, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and City of Hope are members of Therapeutic Advances for Childhood Leukemia, a group of cancer centers headquartered at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles that rapidly develop and open early clinical trials of potential new therapies for children whose cancer has returned despite treatment. This research leads to better treatments for both children and adults.
This is only the beginning. In an era defined by collaboration, City of Hope and Childrens Hospital Los Angeles are poised to make even greater contributions. Their scientists will leverage their expertise in the fields that are crucial to modern cancer research. These include: immunotherapy, which uses the immune system to fight cancer; T-cell therapy, the transfusion of disease-fighting cells to combat cancer; and new customized drugs and targets to better treat a variety of cancers, among many others.
ThinkCure Launch
During this homestand, the Think Blue sign at Dodger Stadium has been changed to ThinkCure. City of Hope and Childrens Hospital Los Angeles also will display banners in prominent locations at their facilities.
As part of today's pre-game festivities, Ventura County Firefighter Jeff Maurer, a former cancer patient at City of Hope, 14-year old Emily Buelow of Calabasas, a former cancer patient of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, and Amy Dilbeck a former cancer patient and now intern at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles will throw pitches to Drs. Forman and Siegel, the two doctors who helped them win their battles against cancer, and Travis McCourt, who will represent the McCourt family.
Tonight's National Anthem will be sung by Sherman Pore. Pore, who was 36 years over the "American Idol" age limit when he showed up at auditions with a signed petition requesting to be an "American Idol" contestant, lost his wife of 20 years to ovarian cancer just two days before his audition. Pore charmed the judges and won the hearts of millions of American Idol viewers singing in memory of his wife. A record company executive contacted Pore, and a year later he has released a CD of standards entitled "For My Lady Love." Proceeds from his CD will support cancer research at City of Hope.
Fundraising efforts for ThinkCure will begin tonight with Dodger legends manning booths behind home plate on all levels at Dodger Stadium to accept donations to the ThinkCure fund. Jamie and Frank McCourt have announced they will match donations up to $1 million to launch the fund. Additional fundraising events will be held throughout the year and a complete schedule of events will be announced in the near future.
For more information about ThinkCure or to make a donation, visit www.thinkcure.org or call 866-554-CURE (2873).
City of Hope:
City of Hope is a leading research and treatment center for cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases. Designated as a Comprehensive Cancer Center, the highest honor bestowed by the National Cancer Institute, and a founding member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, City of Hope's research and treatment protocols advance care throughout the nation. City of Hope is located in Duarte, Calif., just northeast of Los Angeles, and is ranked as one of "America's Best Hospitals" in cancer and urology by U.S.News & World Report. Founded in 1913, City of Hope is a pioneer in the fields of bone marrow transplantation and genetics. For more information, visit www.cityofhope.org.
Childrens Hospital Los Angeles:
Founded in 1901, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles has been treating the most seriously ill and injured children in Los Angeles for more than a century, and it is acknowledged throughout the United States and around the world for its leadership in pediatric and adolescent health. Childrens Hospital is one of America's premier teaching hospitals, affiliated with the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California since 1932. The Childrens Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases is one of the nation's largest pediatric hematology-oncology programs and a pioneer in "bench to bedside" research in cancer. Since 1990, U.S. News & World Report and its panel of board-certified pediatricians have named Childrens Hospital Los Angeles one of the top pediatric facilities in the nation. For more information, visit www.childrenshospitalla.org.
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