St. Baldrick’s Foundation Receives 2022 Outstanding Achievement Award in Public Service, Cancer Research and Advocacy

WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 21, 2022) – The St. Baldrick’s Foundation, the largest charitable funder of childhood cancer research grants, is proud to receive the 2022 Outstanding Achievement Award in Public Service, Cancer Research & Advocacy from the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR). The award was presented at AACR’s 115th Anniversary Event on Wednesday, September 21, 2022, in Washington, D.C. at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery.

“On behalf of St. Baldrick’s volunteers, donors, advocates, researchers, and most importantly, the families impacted by childhood cancer, thank you to the American Association for Cancer Research for honoring the St. Baldrick’s Foundation with the 2022 AACR Outstanding Achievement Award in Public Service, Cancer Research, and Advocacy,” said Kathleen Ruddy, CEO of the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. “St. Baldrick’s deeply values its partnerships with AACR and the broader cancer community as we work together to conquer kids’ cancers.”

While AACR has a distinguished 115-year history, the St. Baldrick’s Foundation is only 19 years old, and yet we too are fortunate in the dedication of our volunteers – who have made St. Baldrick’s the largest charitable funder of childhood cancer research grants by funding more than $322 million in grants to date.

St. Baldrick’s funding has helped avert a shortage of trained pediatric oncology researchers, increased the number of clinical trials available for childhood cancers, helped immunotherapy move beyond blood cancers into making a real impact on solid tumors, and increased survival rates.

Despite these accomplishments, childhood cancer remains the number one disease killer of kids in the United States. While the 5-year survival rate of many childhood cancers has improved, 1 in 5 children diagnosed with cancer in the U.S. will not survive, and 99% of those who do will face chronic health problems and other severe or life-threatening conditions caused by the toxicity of the treatment that initially saved their lives, including brain damage, hearing loss, heart disease, secondary cancers, learning disabilities, infertility, and more.

While St. Baldrick’s strives to change these facts by funding the best research available, the Foundation also is committed to creating change for our kids through policy and advocacy.

For nearly a decade, St. Baldrick’s has served as Co-Chair of the Alliance for Childhood Cancer, a coalition of patient nonprofits and professional societies that work together on policies impacting kids with cancer. Together, the Alliance has developed and passed new legislation to help kids facing a cancer diagnosis, including the Childhood Cancer STAR Act, the most comprehensive childhood cancer legislation in history. The STAR Act was unanimously passed by Congress in 2018 and has been fully funded each year.

Unlike adult cancer, childhood cancer research uniquely depends on investments from the federal government. Thanks to advocates, and Alliance partners, the National Cancer Institute has more than doubled its investment in childhood cancer research in recent years. However, more is still needed to develop new, safer therapies for kids with cancer.

The St. Baldrick’s Foundation will drive progress until every child with cancer can live a full, healthy life. St. Baldrick’s is grateful for its collaboration with AACR as the two organizations work together to give kids a lifetime beyond their diagnosis.

About St. Baldrick’s Foundation
Every 2 minutes, a child somewhere in the world is diagnosed with cancer. In the U.S., 1 in 5 will not survive. The St. Baldrick’s Foundation, the largest charitable funder of childhood cancer research grants, is on a mission to give kids a lifetime by supporting the most promising research to find cures and better treatments for all childhood cancers. When you give to St. Baldrick’s, you don’t just give to one hospital – you support virtually every institution with the expertise to treat kids with cancer across the U.S. St. Baldrick’s ensures that children fighting cancer now — and those diagnosed in the future — will have access to the most cutting-edge treatment, by supporting every stage of research, from new ideas in the lab to the development of new therapies, to life-saving clinical trials. Join us at StBaldricks.org and help #GiveKidsALifetime.

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