Community Supporters Raise $3 Million for Cancer Research
Fundraising total is double last year’s amount for Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute
MIAMI, FL – April 20, 2023 – More than 1,600 participants spent Sunday, March 12, walking and dribbling basketballs while raising money to fund innovative cancer research during the third annual Bounce Back from CancerTM, a partnership between Baptist Health Foundation and the Miami HEAT.
Miami Heat team captain Udonis Haslem led the Miami HEAT’s effort and served as the event’s celebrity ambassador and social media influencer for the second straight year. UD was at the Kaseya Center to celebrate with the dedicated cancer fighters, a quarter of whom walked and dribbled 14 miles from Miami Cancer Institute on Kendall Drive.
Bounce Back from Cancer brought together cancer survivors and their supporters, leaders and staff from the Miami HEAT and Miami Cancer Institute, sports fans and community members to help fulfill the Institute’s vision of a world without cancer.
“This year’s Bounce Back from Cancer was an incredible success,” said Richard Berkowitz, JD, CPA, event chair and founding and executive chairman of Berkowitz Pollack Brant Advisors + CPAs. “This groundswell of support for Miami Cancer Institute from survivors, their families and friends allowed us to double the participants and funds raised over last year.
Michael Zinner, MD, CEO and executive medical director of Miami Cancer Institute, added, “The funds raised through this event are furthering our work and enabling us to conduct clinical trials that lead the nation in groundbreaking cancer therapies.”
EVP and chief commercial officer for The HEAT Group, John Vidalin, added, “The entire Miami HEAT organization is once again proud to partner with Baptist Health Foundation for this extraordinary cause. We are excited that more South Florida organizations and participants are inspired to help fund cancer research that is saving lives.
In addition to the Miami HEAT, sponsors for Bounce Back from Cancer included Title Sponsor Kaseya; Presenting Sponsors S&K Worldwide Realty, LLC and Terra; Diamond Sponsors Amerant Bank, Berkowitz Pollack Brant Advisors + CPAs | Provenance Wealth Advisors, Michael and Valerie Katz, ServiceNow, Team Footworks and Vilar-Hoynack; Plantinum Sponsor Pinecrest Bakery; and Gold Sponsors AHCV, Al-Flex Exterminators, Florida Blue, FPL, Perry Ellis International and Univision. Silver, Bronze and Supporter level sponsors and underwriters also contributed to Bounce Back from Cancer.
For more information about Bounce Back from Cancer, visit HeatHelpCure.org
About Baptist Health Foundation
The mission of Baptist Health Foundation is to inspire philanthropy and build extraordinary donor relationships in support of excellence, innovation, community wellness and global leadership in healthcare at Baptist Health South Florida. Through philanthropy, the Foundation supports and expands Baptist Health’s ability to provide outstanding patient care and bring the latest treatments to patients and families affected by a serious illness. Donor contributions also allow the Foundation to assist Baptist Health facilities in keeping pace with technology and equipment advances, perform cutting-edge research and offer continuing education opportunities to medical staff.
Learn more at BaptistHealth.net/Foundation.
About Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute
Miami Cancer Institute brings to South Florida access to personalized clinical treatments and comprehensive support services delivered with unparalleled compassion. No other cancer program in the region has the combination of cancer-fighting expertise and advanced technology—including the first proton therapy center in South Florida, Latin America and the Caribbean, and one of the only radiation oncology programs in the world with each of the newest radiation therapies in one place—to diagnose and deliver precise cancer treatments that achieve the best outcomes and improve the lives of cancer patients. The Institute offers an impressive roster of established community oncologists and renowned experts, clinical researchers and genomic scientists recruited from the nation’s top cancer centers. Selected as Florida’s only member of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer (MSK) Alliance, Miami Cancer Institute is part of a meaningful clinical collaboration that affords patients in South Florida access to innovative treatments and ensures that the standards of care developed by their multidisciplinary disease management teams match those at MSK.
Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute and Baptist Health Foundation are part of Baptist Health South Florida, the largest healthcare organization in the region, with 12 hospitals, more than 27,000 employees, 4,000 physicians and 200 outpatient centers, urgent care facilities and physician practices spanning across Miami-Dade, Monroe, Broward and Palm Beach counties. Baptist Health has internationally renowned centers of excellence in cancer, cardiovascular care, orthopedics and sports medicine, and neurosciences. In addition, it includes Baptist Health Medical Group; Baptist Health Quality Network; and Baptist Health Care On Demand, a virtual health platform. A not-for-profit organization supported by philanthropy and committed to its faith-based charitable mission of medical excellence, Baptist Health has been recognized by Fortune as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in America and by Ethisphere as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies.
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