SAM DAY FOUNDATION

Two big announcements collided to make for some fantastic growth and celebration with the Sam Day Foundation. SDF has been awarded a grant form the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust for the hire of a Director of Development. The day after learning about the award, we hired Mike Lee to fill the position! Mike has been drawn to SDF since attending the Sam Day Soiree last year. He comes to us with years of experience in corporate sales and sponsorship, nonprofit fundraising, and sports marketing. Mike cares deeply about what we are doing for kids with cancer and he is excited to be a part of the work. Considering the recent news about interruptions to NIH funding, researchers may need to be more dependent on philanthropic funding than ever before. SDF is in the middle of a research review cycle. By May we hope to fund multiple research studies for the most devastating childhood cancers. SDF is equipped with a team and an incredible community of donors, cancer families, researchers, oncologists and their medical teams, and highly regarded research reviewers to guide us toward the best possible decisions and outcomes.

This is truly an exciting time for SDF! We're a growing team with a fantastic community behind us and an optimistic future of impact ahead of us! We're hiring a Director of Development. Check it out!

Congratulations to The Partners Group on their latest award for being a philanthropic company! We are so very honored to be a recipient of their generosity. https://lnkd.in/gAZ_NyC6

This is a big moment for SDF! Oona Vasel is filling a new position and the first full-time position aside from the Founder/ED. We are ready. Thanks so the Elizabeth B. McGraw foundation for funding a significant portion of Oona's salary for the next three years!

The Sam Day Buddy Run has become a well loved event! Introduced during the pandemic, it's been so popular and special that we just keep doing it. This year, 13 runners ran and fundraised for SDF in honor of a kid fighting cancer, or in memory of a kiddo we've lost. The 12-mile course begins right outside the back door or Doernbecher, the floor where kids are receiving treatment for cancer. We take a moment to recognize the gravity of this mission, the runners take on a challenging course, ending in a celebration. Often times, their "Buddies" are waiting for them with signs and smiles at the finish line near a playground. Kids should be on the playground, not an inpatient oncology floor. This year's event raised $49,000 for childhood cancer research.

Childhood sarcomas sure don't seem rare when two good friends have both seen their kids go through the same treatment. Lorna and Eleanor had a few things to say about creating better treatments. https://lnkd.in/gjj7-6Gz

The Sam Day Soiree always includes a few good laughs. And kids. And incredible sponsors. So we put it all together and produced a highly entertaining way to recognize our sponsors. Thanks to the amazing Portland Video Production Company?. The Partners Group THE SAFEWAY FOUNDATION The Oregon Fruit Company OHSU Knight Cancer Institute Ferris Investigations LLC Total Cleaning Solutions LLC Sargent Electric Company Tony Hoskins Cook Solutions Group Brass Design https://lnkd.in/gkVeZK9z

The 10th Sam Day Soiree raised $486K last Saturday after these young people told our 450 guests what life is really like for kids with cancer. With this kind of momentum, we intend to make progress in creating better treatments so kids can live long and healthy lives after cancer. It's long overdue. Thank you to everyone who showed up! What an incredible community!