Pelotonia, Team Buckeye battle on the frontline of cancer funding and research
Family and community are two vital parts to any person’s life. From parents to relatives to neighbors, human interaction drives communication and emotions.
What happens when you get cancer?
Cancer doesn’t affect just one person; it affects everyone you are close too. But what if I told you that there is a community that is striving endlessly to fight cancer and eradicate the damage done.
In less than weeks, Pelotonia will occur – a bike ride that raises awareness for and money to cure cancer. Team Buckeye (the official Ohio State backed group within Pelotonia) has been on the forefront of fighting cancer.
Team Buckeye has a fellowship program, which has produced some amazing forms of combating the life changing disease -from reengineering viruses to fight cancer to choreographing dance routines that reach the emotional side of cancer.
Since its inception in 2010, the fellowship program has accepted 292 students. A majority of the accepted are either undergraduate or graduate students attending Ohio State.
“There was no other place to be,” said Amanda Campbell, a graduate fellow whose focus is on the natural killer cells and their response to antibody therapy.
On top of being in the fellowship, the united passion in fighting cancer is evident.
“Cancer research is something I always wanted to do, “ said Serena Chang, a
dance and molecular genetics major. “A year ago I worked a lot in the lab… and didn’t see the human aspect [of cancer],” Chang went on to say.
For George Koutras, a fourth year in biomedical science, the research side of looking into reengineering viruses to combat cancer piqued while at Ohio State.
“[I] didn’t even know the potential… [reengineering viruses] opens the door to combat cancer,” Koutras explained of this new approach at understanding cancer.
Team Buckeye is just one part of the cancer-solving puzzle. This year, Pelotonia has generated over $9 million in donations. As the bike ride gets ready to begin, there will be over 7,700 riders with over 269 pelotons – a peloton is a group that consist of at least five members; Team Buckeye is a (gigantic) peloton.
Unlike other organizations that fight cancer, Pelotonia is more than that: it’s a community.
“It’s a grass root program in the Columbus area. So many people are dedicating their lives to find a cure for cancer, “ said Campbell on the importance of Pelotonia.
Chang added to the importance of donating to Pelotonia, “I’ve never felt so much [from] a community… strangers will do anything to help reach your goal. That sort of community is irreplaceable.”
From Campbell, Chang and Koutras, they are a small sample of the dedication and passion pumped into the fellowship program. There aren’t very many places in the world were you will find someone connecting art to science in the form of a choreographed danced (a task that Chang is attempting to complete), or someone reengineering viruses to fight cancer (the work that Koutras has been a part of), or in the work of understanding natural killer cells being done by Campbell – after researching what exactly natural killer cells are, I still couldn’t give you a simplified answer; this skims the surface of how in-depth, challenging, and taxing the fight for cancer is.
Hopefully one day, there will be a cure for cancer – or even a way to slow down the effects of cancer.
When asked if she thought there would be a cure for cancer within the next 50-100 years, Campbell responded, “ we have a shot at finding the cure… [the scientific community] found a lot about cancer, but there’s a lot we don’t know. I believe in my heart, that we will find a cure.”
It’s that type of optimism that keeps the fight to end cancer alive. With the fellowship program by Team Buckeye, Ohio State has put some of the brightest minds on a path to find the cure.
This is the power of the unit at its strongest.
Where the money goes
• 100 percent of money raised goes to cancer research, nothing to administration
• Idea Grants which help scientists develop innovative cancer research including new treatments and prevention, things that wouldn’t yet get funded by the National Institutes of Health
• Scholarships to those pursuing independent cancer research and tools for discovery such as new equipment and technologies
• Recruitment and retainment of talented physicians, scientists and physician scientists who specialize in different types of cancer
• Clinical trials, such as the recent drug Ibrutinib which took $100,000 to trial two incurable diseases, chronic lymphocytic leukemia and mantle cell lymphoma, which had a 50 percent response in long-term mantle cell lymphoma patients and 90 percent with chronic lymphocytic leukemia which led to both indications being FDA approved and now available to millions.
• Cancer vaccines, such as a recent one against breast cancer that has seen complete and partial responses; the next step is moving into clinics
• Screening for the Lynch Syndrome across the state of Ohio for newly diagnosed colon cancer patients and biological relatives which can help prevent cancer with precautionary measures
*Based off information available through the Pelotonia and Team Buckeye websites
By the numbers
• $9,225,911 raised to date for 2015
• More than $90 million raised since 2009
• 7,738 riders currently enlisted
• 269 pelotons (riding groups)
• 292 scholarship recipients through the Pelotonia Fellowship Program
• $6.6 million in funding to Idea Grants thus far, which funds research on new treatments & prevention
• No.1 most powerful fundraiser in OSU history
*Based off information available through the Pelotonia and Team Buckeye websites
Fundraising tips
• Create a personalized rider profile page that tells your story and why your goal is important to you.
• Include a link to your rider profile page in your email and across your social media accounts so that those interested can easily access your page to donate.
• Write a letter to those you wish to donate to the cause. This will make a more personal connection between you and donors and show your commitment.
• If you have a part-time job, ask your employer if they would be willing to donate or match donations.
• Host a fundraising party or event that includes a raffle, items for purchase and have an easily accessible computer where people can donate on the spot.
• Sell unwanted items to secondhand stores and use the profits toward your ride.
• Team up with your favorite local bar or restaurant and see if they’d be willing to donate a percentage of sales from one night toward Pelotonia. Once you have a date, submit the event on the Team Buckeye website so that it will appear on their calendar.
• Ask family members to donate now in lieu of any upcoming birthday or holiday gifts (or at least part of what you normally get).
• Put up flyers in any shops and restaurants that allow them near you and campus. Be sure to make this just as customized as your page and give a brief description about yourself and the cause and include how people can access your donation page.
