UCI Anti-Cancer Challenge goes virtual for 2020
Event adds eight weeks of fitness challenges, health webinars and wellness courses
Orange, Calif., July 22, 2020 — UCI Anti-Cancer Challenge, a movement to raise awareness and funds for cancer research, is going virtual for 2020 in order to maintain social distancing and safeguard participant health.
The reimagined Anti-Cancer Challenge now includes an eight-week virtual fundraising and wellness program that connects people around the local community and across the nation. Participants can ride, run or walk virtually with friends and family wherever they are.
“In only three years, the community has rallied to support 43 pilot projects and early-phase clinical trials that have moved the dial on cancer research,” says Richard Van Etten, MD, PhD, director of the UCI Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and founding director of the Anti-Cancer Challenge. “We intend to sustain the positive momentum and fund more innovative investigations through a spectacular virtual event that offers new opportunities to be engaged and inspired.”
“These past few months have challenged our community in many ways,” said Brian Hervey, UCI vice chancellor of University Advancement and Alumni Relations. “At the same time, we have witnessed an amazing generosity of spirit, particularly in health-related areas. We are pleased to offer our community a virtual program that unites us all to fight cancer and, at the same time, offers activities that benefit their personal health.”
The health-focused program begins Aug. 8 and concludes with a virtual community celebration on Challenge Day, Oct. 3. Teams and individuals are invited to participate in weekly virtual fitness challenges, riding, running or walking to accumulate miles that qualify them to earn great prizes. They can also attend weekly virtual wellness classes and educational webinars, featuring renowned UCI Health faculty. On Challenge Day, participants will run, ride or walk from wherever they are—or simply take the day to celebrate the people in their lives who have been touched by cancer.
“Even if we are apart this year, our Anti-Cancer Challenge mission remains the same – to raise awareness and funds for critical cancer research,” says Jennifer Sarrail, executive director of the Anti-Cancer Challenge. “Community participation in the reimagined virtual event will help to make the next discovery possible. We will stop at nothing to end cancer and we look forward to connecting with many people in the coming weeks who share this commitment.”
One-hundred percent of participant proceeds raised through the Anti-Cancer Challenge will fund essential cancer research at UCI Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. There is no registration fee or fundraising commitment to participate in any 2020 Anti-Cancer Challenge activity. Registrations for individuals who signed up for the 2020 event prior to the virtual transformation will be registered automatically for the October 3 virtual program and celebration.
Visit anti-cancerchallenge.org to learn more and register.
The Anti-Cancer Challenge is a community of cyclists, runners and walkers — 3,000 strong and growing — who share a commitment to defeating cancer. Its mission is to raise awareness and funds for life-saving research at the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. One-hundred percent of the dollars raised by participants goes to promising cancer research. For more information, visit www.Anti-CancerChallenge.org
The Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center is at the forefront of discovering new ways to fight cancer. As the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center in Orange County, the cancer center combines leading-edge research, clinical trials and world-class care for patients. In 2019 alone, more than 6,300 new patients benefited from the advanced treatment provided by the center.
UCI Health comprises the clinical enterprise of the University of California, Irvine. Patients can access UCI Health at primary and specialty care offices across Orange County and at its main campus, UCI Medical Center in Orange, California. The 418-bed acute care hospital provides tertiary and quaternary care, ambulatory and specialty medical clinics, and behavioral health and rehabilitation services. UCI Medical Center is home to Orange County’s only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, high-risk perinatal/neonatal program and American College of Surgeons-verified Level I adult and Level II pediatric trauma center and regional burn center. UCI Health serves a region of nearly 4 million people in Orange County, western Riverside County and southeast Los Angeles County. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.