The AACR marked its fifth year as the official charity partner for the Philadelphia Marathon. Thanks to the generous support of sponsors, individual donors, and the AACR Runners for Research team, the marathon weekend raised more than $400,000 to support the AACR’s mission. In November, the Philadelphia Marathon Weekend returned after a year off due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the AACR marked its fifth year as the official charity partner for the event. More than 7,300 supporters made contributions to the AACR—including Philadelphia’s Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson, the AACR Runners for Research Gold Level Sponsor with a donation of $50,000, and the 287 members of the AACR Runners for Research team. Thanks to this generous support, the marathon weekend raised a record total of over $411,000 to support innovative cancer science.
The AACR COVID-19 and Cancer Task Force was formed in 2020 to address the immediate needs of scientists, clinicians, and patients impacted by the pandemic. The task force worked to identify the most formidable obstacles to progress against cancer and to develop ways the AACR could overcome those obstacles. The group outlined three objectives that the AACR should pursue in order to endure and prevail through the COVID-19 crisis: 1) accelerate innovation in clinical care; 2) promote diversity, equity, and inclusion; and 3) sustain the next generation of cancer scientists.
As the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted and exacerbated inequities in cancer care and disparities in workforce diversity, the AACR took direct action to address issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in cancer research:
In November, the AACR and Pelotonia announced the establishment of a new program funded by The Victoria’s Secret Global Fund for Women’s Cancers to improve and save the lives of women around the world by fostering innovative research and supporting the professional development of female cancer researchers. The program will offer grants to support research focused on improving outcomes for patients with breast and gynecologic cancers. It will also include new scientific achievement awards intended to recognize five influential female researchers who have made pioneering contributions to the fundamental understanding and/or treatment of breast or any form of gynecologic cancer. The first Victoria’s Secret Global Fund for Women’s Cancers Meritorious Awards, in Partnership with Pelotonia and AACR, will be presented in 2022.
While the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic precluded the possibility of in-person events for most of the year, the Foundation continued to use virtual events to stay connected with its donor community:
John Kincade
Cancer Survivor
AACR Ambassador
