The Brain Tumor 5k run and walk hosted by American Brain Tumor Association (ABTA) will be on Nov. 4 in San Francisco’s Lake Merced starting at 8 a.m. This event happens annually since 2006 to fundraise for support services and research to combat brain tumors. Tickets are sold at thirty-five dollars.
Stanley Currier, a brain tumor survivor and volunteer member of the ABTA Committee gives an overview of his efforts.
“I am involved in raising awareness about the event and trying to recruit people to come participate in the event,” Currier said. “I’ve also been liaising with some local small businesses to provide support to the event and I’ll actually be speaking at the event.”
This year, ABTA has raised up to 34 thousand dollars in the Bay Area alone and are trying to reach their goal of seventy-six thousand.
Money raised at this event will be funneled towards patient and caregiver-focused programs and strengthen the ABTA’s mission through increased research.
Currier describes how the ABTA uses funds from events.
“[ABTA] works to provide funds both to research organizations and hospitals as well as aspiring medical professionals who work across a broad range of brain tumors because there’s many different types of brain tumors,” Currier said. “And so they try to advance research across many different kinds of them, which will ultimately affect a large population … it’s a very noble cause.”
Currier explains why he enjoys doing volunteer work for the ABTA.
“My perspective is, any type of nonprofit organization that’s working to provide a better quality of life for brain tumor survivors is an organization that I’m going to throw my support behind,” Currier said.
University of California, San Franciso’s Team Leader Janine Lupo is part of the host committee where her efforts are focused on organizing this event. Lupo explains how the organization helps further scientific research for brain tumors.
“In terms of research they [ABTA] try hard to support investigators at various stages of their career, from novel research and different backgrounds,” Lupo said. “From biology and treatment to finding new drug discovery treatment, clinical outcomes, imaging, and then also have a really strong caregiver support program.”
Lupo says that more volunteers are welcome to sign-up for the event.
“We are still in need of volunteers to help cheer on at the different places [and] the routes, handout food, metals at the end,” Lupo said.
Online, you can donate at abta.org, to help a team reach their goal or donate to a specific patient.