St. Baldrick’s Foundation Announces $5,140,000 Grant to the Children’s Oncology Group

Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Traci Shirk
(626) 792-8247 ext.50
traci@stbaldricks.org

St. Baldrick’s Foundation Announces $5,140,000 Grant to the Children’s Oncology Group

National grant is part of more than $19.6 million awarded in new grants

BETHESDA, Md. (October 25, 2010) – The St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising money for childhood cancer research, awarded a $5,140,000 cooperative research grant to the Children’s Oncology Group (COG).

Worldwide, more than 160,000 children are diagnosed with cancer each year and it remains the leading cause of death by disease among children in the United States. With only 4 percent of all federal cancer research funding dedicated to pediatric cancer research, St. Baldrick’s Foundation grant funds are critical to continue the battle against this devastating disease.

This grant to the COG is again the largest made by the Foundation for the year and is shared by more than 200 institutions across the U.S., virtually every institution with the expertise to treat childhood cancers. While only approximately three percent of adults with cancer are treated on clinical trials, approximately 75 percent of children with cancer receive their treatment through these trials, which are their best hope for a cure.

For the first time, this year’s grant will also help COG member institutions open four specific high-impact clinical trials which they might otherwise not be able to offer their patients. Each institution opening all four trials will receive $10,000 in addition to the ongoing funding which reimburses partial costs of treating children on clinical trials.

“A nationwide team of physicians, scientists, nurses, psychologists and other health professionals is poised to fundamentally improve the outcomes for children with cancer,” said Dr. Peter Adamson, Chair of the Children’s Oncology Group. “The Children’s Oncology Group has linked thousands of experts from virtually every childhood cancer program in the country to an unprecedented collaborative effort focused on turning today’s science into cures. Our partnership with the St. Baldrick’s Foundation in our new High Impact Initiative will allow us to pursue key areas of research at our more than 200 COG centers.”

St. Baldrick’s signature head-shaving events are the fastest growing, volunteer-driven fundraising opportunity benefitting childhood cancer research. In 2011, the Foundation’s volunteers and supporters have led the way to raising a record-breaking $27.4 million by organizing more than 1,000 St. Baldrick’s events and shaving more than 44,000 heads to stand in solidarity with kids with cancer.

Everyone can do their part to support St. Baldrick’s! To locate or organize an event in your community, sign-up to shave, donate or volunteer, visit www.StBaldricks.org. You can also become a fan on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, join our letsCONQUER movement and visit the Foundation’s YouTube and Vimeo channels.

About the St. Baldrick’s Foundation
The St. Baldrick’s Foundation is a volunteer-driven charity committed to funding the most promising research to find cures for childhood cancers and give survivors long and healthy lives. The Foundation funds more in childhood cancer research grants than any organization except the U.S. government. St. Baldrick’s funds are granted to some of the most brilliant childhood cancer research experts in the world and to younger professionals who will be the experts of tomorrow. Funds awarded also enable hundreds of local institutions to participate in national pediatric cancer clinical trials, a child’s best hope for a cure. Since the Foundation’s first grants as an independent charity in 2005, St. Baldrick’s has funded more than $76 million in childhood cancer research. For more information about the St. Baldrick’s Foundation please call 1.888.899.BALD or visit www.StBaldricks.org.