News

2014 Summer Grants: A Record-Breaking Year

by Becky C. Weaver, Chief Mission Officer, St. Baldrick's Foundation
July 16, 2014

It’s the biggest grants release of the year: the St. Baldrick’s Foundation Summer Grants. This year, the announcement is bigger than ever! Don’t miss the video where we surprise some of our researchers with the exciting news. To see the research St. Baldrick’s is funding near you, visit our Grants Search.

2014-Summer-Grants

You have made 2014 a record-breaking year.

In addition to helping St. Baldrick’s break a world record for head-shaving, this year our incredible St. Baldrick’s volunteers have raised more money for childhood cancer research than ever before — an amazing feat!

All of that hard work is paying off today, as we announce our annual Summer Grants. This is our biggest grant release of the year, and 2014 is a milestone for us all, as we give over $24.7 million in children’s cancer research grants —  more than any year prior.

You have made the St. Baldrick’s Foundation the world’s largest private funder of pediatric cancer research, awarding more than $152 million since 2005.

Your involvement is so important, now more than ever. As federal funding shrinks for pediatric cancer research, kids with cancer are relying more and more on research support from private foundations like the St. Baldrick’s Foundation.

As you may know, federal budget cuts continue to impact childhood cancer research funding. The Children’s Oncology Group (COG), whose member institutions treat over 90% of kids with cancer in the U.S., has weathered a 30% decrease in federal funding over the past decade when adjusted for inflation.

Thanks to you, the St. Baldrick’s Foundation is allocating an unprecedented $7.5 million to the Children’s Oncology Group (COG) this year.

While $7.5 million does not bridge the funding gap for the COG, St. Baldrick’s commitment ensures that kids with cancer will continue to have access to innovative therapies through clinical trials — lifesaving treatments for so many children with cancer.

With over 8,000 experts at more than 220 COG-affiliated children’s hospitals and institutions in North America, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe, this funding touches the lives of countless kids with cancer not only in the United States, but around the world.

VIDEO: These pediatric oncologists weren’t expecting this great news See researchers’ reactions to the news that their work will be funded by a St. Baldrick’s Foundation grant.

This year, our global impact is reaching even further, as we fund our first International Scholar from China. With over 7,700 children being treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in China each year, this grant will have a long-lasting impact on pediatric oncology in China.

We have also made our first-ever Genius AwardThis grant goes to an international federation for a project involving “real-time” precision medicine for patients fighting acute myeloid leukemia, an aggressive and frequently incurable blood cancer.

Of course, the Summer Grants also include ongoing support of the St. Baldrick’s Foundation – Stand Up to Cancer Pediatric Cancer Dream Team*, who in their first year of collaborative research, have already seen progress in treating some difficult-to-cure childhood cancers. We look forward to seeing what year two will bring for this groundbreaking team of researchers.

Our thanks goes out to the more than 200 pediatric cancer researchers who volunteered their time and expertise to conduct scientific reviews of every application, making sure we fund the best research projects. As always, the St. Baldrick’s Foundation is committed to funding childhood cancer research at every stage of the process, and there is so much more to share with you in the weeks and months ahead. Stay tuned!

All of us at the St. Baldrick’s Foundation are proud of your record-breaking efforts this year and the difference you are making for kids with cancer everywhere. Forgive me if I sound like a broken record when I say: this research is only possible because of you.

Because you gave, because you fundraised, because you shaved your head, because you organized an event, because you shared a story or an email with a friend — because of YOU, there is hope for children with cancer.

You give hope to children with cancer. Make a donation to fund lifesaving children’s cancer research, or learn more about the impact of your gift.

Fund Research     See the Impact

*Formerly known as the St. Baldrick’s – Stand Up to Cancer Pediatric Cancer Dream Team, this team is now the St. Baldrick’s EPICC Team (Empowering Pediatric Immunotherapies for Childhood Cancer).

More from the St. Baldrick’s blog:


Share: