Fred's Team to Raise Money

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Wednesday, 31 October 2001

The final stretch of the New York City Marathon will have extra meaning for over 300 runners as they pass Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan. There they will see some of the pediatric cancer patients who will benefit from their special fundraising effort. Members of Fred's Team, named after Fred Lebow, a running advocate and the original director of the New York City Marathon, are expected to raise $1 million.

"Fred's Team makes the Marathon so special because it's my way of giving back," says Fred's Team member Erin Cummings, who has been running since 1998. "I know that the money I raise while running goes to research to find a cure for cancer."

With over 3,000 members, Fred's Team members also participate in other marathons globally and nationally, having raised over $10 million to date. Information on marathons from Iceland to Boston, runners' testimonies, fundraising resources, and tips from Fred's Team Captain Grete Waitz can all be found on Memorial Sloan-Kettering's Fred's Team Web sector. Future marathoners can also download a sign-up form for any of the participating races.

Fred Lebow was treated at MSKCC in the early 1990's for brain cancer and often spent time with pediatric cancer patients. Touched by those children, he encouraged fellow runners to find sponsors to pledge money for cancer research. After Fred's death, the Aubrey Fund for Pediatric Cancer Research was created as beneficiary of the fundraising. It is named after Aubrey Barr, a courageous childhood leukemia survivor who at 34 continues to run with Fred's Team.

"The runners are dedicated to the cause of pediatric cancer research. It's great for the kids because they feel like someone is trying to help them," said Sue Shay, Director of Fred's Team. "It's also wonderful for the runners. They get V.I.P treatment at the marathons, and it makes them feel special, which is only fitting because they have done a lot."

Fred's Team members are organized to run in six marathons every year - Paris, Boston, New York City, Chicago, Dublin, and Norway - with each member raising $5,000 on average. Members also run in other marathons and athletic events locally or worldwide under the auspices of Fred's Team, such as the Ironman Competition.

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center is the world's oldest and largest institution and clinicians generate innovative approaches to better understand, diagnose and treat cancer. Our specialists are leaders in biomedical research and in translating the latest research to advance the standard of cancer care worldwide.

For more information, or to contact Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, see their website at: www.mskcc.org