Members of the Chicago Fire Department’s Charitable Foundation, Ignite the Spirit,(Ignitethespirit.org) in partnership with the Henry Schueler 41 & 9 Foundation (Henryschueler.org) will be riding their bicycles across the country this spring to raise money to fight pediatric cancer and the infections children can contract when undergoing treatment. The ride is called the Coast2Coast4ACure ( Facebook/Website Coast2Coast4ACure.com) and will start in Torrance, California on May 20 and end near Myrtle Beach, SC on May 31. The group of 8-10 riders and 4-5 support personnel, composed of Chicago firemen, paramedics and members of the HSF 41 & 9 Foundation, including Jim Boyle and me will ride approximately 230 miles per day in a relay style team.
This is the third year and third Bike Ride of this unique partnership between the Chicago Fire Department and the Henry Schueler Foundation which has raised over $100,000 for cancer related research. Virtually all the money raised by the Henry Schueler Foundation has been targeted for cancer or infection related research. The Foundation just published (Oxford Press) a Supplement to the Clinical Infectious Disease Journal entitled “Advances Against Mucormycosis: A Tribute to the Memory and Courage of Hank Schueler” The Supplement is also now on-line and can be viewed for free to any who want to visit cid.oxfordjournals.org. I urge you to visit this site to see what you have helped do for others.
Likewise, we have funded the first Genomic Analysis of Hypodiploid Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (“HALL”) led by Dr Charles Mullighan from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Dr Steven Hunger from Denver Children’s Hospital. This project led to a gene analysis of samples from patients with three different forms of this rare leukemia to confirm genetic differences that could lead to new treatments. The promising results of their research, dedicated to Hank’s memory, has been submitted to the journal Nature Genetics for publication. Your generosity has helped make this ground breaking research possible.
