I so rarely get fired up about things.
Okay, okay. We all know that’s not true. But when I get fired up every year about this time, it’s for a very good reason.
That reason is the annual Dolphins Cancer Challenge. It’s the Miami Dolphins’ largest signature charity event and the largest charity event in the entire National Football League.
Last year, the Dolphins Cancer Challenge raised $5.1 million for Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center through more than 30,000 donations.
The event’s vice president, Michael Mandich, recently paid us a visit at Fried On Business to give us an update on the Dolphins Cancer Challenge 2017
The DCC started in 2010, he said, and over the last six years has raised some $16.5 million for cancer research at Sylvester. Raising financial support for research, Mandich said, is very much a part of the cure.
Now, the fine people at Dolphins Cancer Challenge understand that not everyone is up to a 100-mile bike ride, which is one of the headline events. So they’ve created a variety of ways to get involved, such as:
– Bike rides as short as 13 miles.
– A 5K run/walk.
– A “virtual ride” for those who would prefer to raise funds without participating in the athletics.
– A concert with the Counting Crows.
100% of the money raised goes to fund cancer research at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. I sponsored three of my doctors in last year’s event, but you can do as much as you can afford.
Every. Dollar. Counts.
Mandich said organizers are expecting more than 4,000 participants for the athletic activities this year.
Folks, we have a gem in our own backyard. The Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center is a top-notch cancer treatment and research facility, but it offers so much more. I go there once a week, for example, for help with my bad back.
They deserve – and welcome – our support.
Mandich is the face of the Dolphins Cancer Challenge, but he’ll be the first to tell you that it’s a team effort – no pun intended – that involves some of the most stalwart members of the South Florida community.
And a whole lot of wonderful people whose names you’ll never know.
“We have an organization with eight or nine people that work year-round on it, and we focus on it year-round. But we simply don’t have the manpower to get into all of these (corporate) organizations without a lot of help,” Mandich said.
You can learn more about the Dolphins Cancer Challenge 2017 online at DolphinsCancerChallenge.com. It’s only about three weeks away – with the main event set for Feb. 11 – so get on the website now and find out how you can help.
Click here to listen to the full interview with Michael Mandich of the Dolphins Cancer Challenge 2017.
