Giving Back

Table of Contents

The SKANSKA MOFFITT Classic

Moffitt Cancer Center and SKANSKA USA Building Inc., invite you to step beyond imagination into a future where cancer is finally cured. By supporting the Ninth Annual SKANSKA Moffitt Classic Golf Tournament, you will help fund groundbreaking cancer research – from studying anti-tumor vaccines to investigating new drug therapies.

“Skanska is proud to help support the Moffitt Cancer Center’s mission to find the cure for cancer by co-hosting this prestigious annual tournament,” said Denise Muth, project executive with Skanska. “We, too, look forward to the day when that cure is found. This event is another very special way that we can continue to partner with Moffitt to help raise funds for such an important cause.”

Recognized as a top golf tournament in the Tampa Bay area, the SKANSKA Moffitt Classic brings together medical, business and community leaders to raise funds to benefit vital cancer research. Scheduled for Monday, September 28, 2009, the tournament will be held at the prestigious Old Memorial Golf Club with registration starting at 8 a.m. and a shotgun start at 10 a.m. Since the tournament’s inception, more than $800,000 has been raised to further Moffitt's research efforts.

To help make the 2009 event a great success, please join in our fight against cancer by becoming a tournament sponsor. In addition to supporting Moffitt Cancer Center’s mission – to contribute to the prevention and cure of cancer – all sponsorships may qualify as a charitable donation to the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute Foundation, Inc. within the limits set by the law.

Contact Dan Minor in the Moffitt Foundation at (813) 745-3192 or Daniel.minor@moffitt.org for more information.

Pinellas Partners in Florida Bank Miles for Moffitt

The Original Motley Crew, comprised of Pinellas Partners members and friends, laced up their sneakers and turned out in force on May 9 for the Fourth Annual Florida Bank Miles for Moffitt. The team joined nearly 4,000 runners and walkers who took part to raise money for cancer research at Moffitt Cancer Center.

“The Pinellas Partners team had a great time!” remarked Leslie Schipani-Anderson of the Moffitt Foundation. “Though we didn’t finish the race in record time, our team spirit carried us to the finish line in 1 hour and 2 minutes. It’s a privilege to work with the Pinellas Partners whose goal is to provide education to our neighbors in Pinellas County about the treatments and advancements in research taking place in the Tampa Bay area.”

The Five-Mile, 5K and One-Mile races on May 9 were capped off by the Gerdau Ameristeel Cancer Survivor Tribute. Survivors marched onto stage to a rousing rendition of "I Will Survive" performed by the band Road Trip, with special lyrics written for the occasion by Maureen Kolosky.

This year’s race benefits research at Moffitt Cancer Center, which has received $355,000 since the event began in 2006 including $125,000 this year.

Karen Dalton, founder and chairwoman of the annual event, and Priscilla Mack, race sponsorship chairwoman, presented the $100,000 Milestone Award for Research at Moffitt’s Scientific Retreat on March 6 at the Alfano Conference Center near USF. The award came from proceeds of the 2008 Miles for Moffitt event. The four Moffitt researchers that were selected to share equally in the award are:

• David Shibata, M.D., section head of the colorectal oncology program
• Dana Rollison, Ph.D., scientific director of Cancer Registry
• Vani Simmons, Ph.D., assistant professor, tobacco research and intervention
• Nupam Mahajan, Ph.D., assistant professor in areas of drug discovery and therapeutic strategies for advanced prostate and breast cancer.

Giving Back Is Daughter’s Love in Action

Never underestimate the love of a daughter.  Kelly Hare never will. When her young daughter, Payton, found out that her mother had breast cancer, the determined 11-year-old hatched a plan that left her parents speechless. 

Unbeknown to them, Payton began contacting family and friends from her mom’s cell phone directory to tell them her mother had breast cancer.  Would they come to a surprise birthday party for Kelly, the youngster asked?  The only gift she requested was the only one that now mattered – a donation to breast cancer research. 

The surprise was short-lived.  Kelly and husband Shawn, who live in Los Angeles, started hearing from friends who were shocked to learn that the vibrant actress, wife and mother was ill.

“I thought it was hilarious,” Hare remembers, “but I wasn’t surprised.  I’ve raised a smart and giving daughter.  I was so pleased and proud that she would do this, but that’s who she is.  She’s always putting others ahead of herself.” 

Hare chose to return home to Florida to be near her family in Lakeland and Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa.  Under the care of Dr. Susan Minton, Hare fought back against her cancer.  “I couldn’t have asked for a better, more compassionate doctor,” she said.  Payton fought back, too, by raising $1,300 at her mother’s party. 

In March accompanied by her extended family, Payton presented a check to Dr. Minton.  In turn, Payton was inducted as a Moffitt Youth Ambassador, presented with an I Made A Difference pin, and given a balloon shaped like a cell phone.   

With treatment successfully over, Hare and her daughter plan to return to Los Angeles in August.  And Hare is keeping a better eye on her cell phone.  Just in case.

Corporate Matching Gifts Make it Easy to Double Your Donation

Did you know that hundreds of companies match donations to the Moffitt Cancer Center Foundation?  If you are a current employee, employee spouse, or retiree, please call your company’s Human Resources Department and ask if they take part in a Matching Gift Program for employee and retiree donations.  If so, just ask for a matching gift form to complete.  Then please send it along with your gift to:

Moffitt Cancer Center Foundation
12902 Magnolia Drive
Tampa, FL 33612-9416

Here is a partial list of companies that take part in a Matching Gift Program. 

Professional Partners Prove Powerful Voice in Sarasota

Professional Partners groups are a key element in the Planned Giving endeavor of any charitable foundation.  Attorneys, accountants, bankers, financial planners and other estate specialists can be the key connection that joins the wishes of clients to the mission of their favorite non-profit organization. 

In 2008 the Planned Giving staff of the Moffitt Foundation realized that we had a new opportunity.  While a group of Sarasota Partners had long existed, with a new member of the Planned Giving staff now actually living in Sarasota, we had the opportunity to expand this outreach.  We now have a group that includes Curt & Cliff Eskew, Carolyn Piano, Jim Endriss, Ryan Walker, Don Griffith, Richard Davies, Ken Honick, and long-time member Howard Payne. 

The revitalized Sarasota Professional Partners met last winter and welcomed Dr. Nagi Kumar, Ph.D., R.D., director of Nutrition Research at Moffitt, to a breakfast at the Indigo Hotel in Sarasota.  Dr. Kumar, a long-time researcher into the role of nutrition in cancer prevention and treatment, shared recent findings about the possible role of green tea to prevent prostate cancer.  Dr. Kumar is working on a $3.6 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to study the possible effect of Polyphenon E, a drug developed from green tea, in preventing the progression of early signs of prostate cancer.   Dr. Kumar remarked that studies of Asian populations suggest that green tea consumption may be one of the reasons why they have the lowest risk of prostate cancer compared to the Western world.

As always Dr. Kumar did an outstanding job of enlightening all in attendance about this study and other cancer prevention efforts at Moffitt Cancer Center. In 2009 we look forward to making sure that the Sarasota Professional Partners breakfast becomes a well attended bi-annual event.  With the input of these fine experts we look forward to expanding Moffitt Cancer Center’s presence in the minds and hearts of Sarasota’s philanthropists!

For information about joining the Sarasota Professional Partners or about including Moffitt Cancer Center in your estate planning, please call Jim Deering in the Moffitt Foundation at (813) 745-1403. 

Contact Us