Cancer Charities Unite For The All-Star Charity 5K & Fun Run Presented By Sports Authority & Nike - Stand Up To Cancer

Press

Posted July 9, 2009

Cancer Charities Unite For The All-Star Charity 5K & Fun Run Presented By Sports Authority & Nike

Founding members from the Prostate Cancer Foundation, Stand Up To Cancer and Susan G. Komen for the Cure come together in St. Louis.July 09, 2009 – In an unprecedented display of unity among organizations engaged in the fight against cancer, Michael Milken, founder of the Prostate Cancer Foundation, Sherry Lansing, a founding member of Stand Up To Cancer and Susan G. Komen for the Cure founder, Ambassador Nancy Brinker will come together at the first-ever All-Star Charity 5K & Fun Run presented by Sports Authority and Nike on Sunday, July 12.  The leaders will be joining Gold Medalist and Stand Up to Cancer Ambassador Shawn Johnson and baseball Hall of Famers Lou Brock, Rollie Fingers, Brooks Robinson and former Cardinal Vince Coleman.  All race-related net proceeds will be donated equally to the three charities supporting cancer research and education as part of the 2009 MLB All-Star Summer program dedicated to charitable initiatives and giving back to the community.

Michael Milken established the Prostate Cancer Foundation in 1993 as a continuation of his medical-research initiatives that started in the 1970s. In 1982, he formalized his philanthropic activities by co-founding the Milken Family Foundation, which has been one of America’s leading supporters of cancer research, prevention and treatment. He also serves as Chairman of the Milken Institute, a non-profit economic think tank, and its Washington, DC-based FasterCures – The Center for Accelerating Medical Solutions. A summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of University of California, Berkeley, he earned his M.B.A. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He and his wife, Lori, have three children and four grandchildren, and will celebrate their 41st wedding anniversary this year. More details are at www.mikemilken.com.

Sherry Lansing, the longtime Chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures who stepped down in 2005 to focus full time on philanthropy, is a founding member of Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C). SU2C was established last year to support groundbreaking research aimed at getting new cancer treatments to patients in an accelerated timeframe. Stand Up To Cancer is perhaps best known for the unprecedented television special that aired simultaneously on NBC, ABC and CBS on September 5, 2008. The broadcast was aimed at raising both public awareness of cancer’s impact, as well as resources for the organization’s unique research funding model. The over $100 million Stand Up To Cancer has raised to date is being disseminated to five multi-institutional, multi-disciplinary research Dream Teams, as well as high-risk, potentially high-reward innovative research projects that often go un-funded by conventional sources. In addition to her role with SU2C, Ms. Lansing is the founder of the Sherry Lansing Foundation, which focuses on public education and cancer research. Last year, Ms. Lansing was elected as the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Entertainment Industry Foundation, the underlying 501(c)(3) non-profit organization for SU2C.  She serves on the boards of Friends of Cancer Research, The Lasker Foundation, Rand Health, and Stop Cancer. She is also Vice Chair of the University of California Board of Regents and a board member of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. Ms. Lansing lives in Los Angeles with her husband, film director William Friedkin.

Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker founded Susan G. Komen for the Cure on a promise she made to her sister, Susan G. Komen, that she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer. She led a relentless breast cancer information and awareness campaign and succeeded in breaching the silence surrounding the disease, fundamentally changing the way it is talked about and treated. She started the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure and also pioneered cause-related marketing, both of which have had a profound impact on the breast cancer movement. An outspoken champion of all people with breast cancer as well as those who are at risk for developing the disease, Ambassador Brinker takes her cause and her passion all over the world, seeking the fresh input and international partnerships essential to ending breast cancer forever. Among her many leadership roles, Brinker served as U.S. Ambassador to Hungary from 2001-2003, U.S. Chief of Protocol from 2007-2009 and was recently appointed as the Goodwill Ambassador for Cancer Control by the World Health Organization.

All finishers will receive a commemorative All-Star medal and t-shirt with the top three male, female and wheelchair division finishers receiving Sports Authority and Nike gift cards. The winner of each of the three divisions will receive a 7-inch crystal Steuben Glass award engraved with the All-Star Charity 5K and Fun Run presented by Sports Authority and Nike logo.

Participants will run and walk on a baseball-themed course featuring appearances by MLB legends and mascots. The course will begin at Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals and host of the 2009 MLB All-Star Game, and will finish at America’s Center, home of Major League Baseball All-Star FanFest. The 5K portion of the event, which will be an officially timed event, will begin at 7:30 a.m. CT with the family-friendly 1.1 mile Fun Run starting at 8:00 a.m. CT. The price is $35 (adult) and $30 (children 12 and under) for the 5K and $25 (adult) and $20 (children 12 and under) for the Fun Run. Space is limited, so participants are encouraged to sign up early. Event information is available at www.allstargame.com and also available at all nine St. Louis-area Sports Authority locations.

The All-Star Charity 5K and Fun Run presented by Sports Authority and Nike will be joining an All-Star Summer event line-up that focuses on giving back to the community including the MLB All-Star Charity Concert presented by Pepsi benefiting Stand Up to Cancer; People “All-Stars Among Us,” a national campaign with PEOPLE Magazine that will recognize individuals who have served their communities in extraordinary ways; and in-stadium events highlighted by Gatorade All-Star Workout Day in which nearly $5 million will be donated to local and national charities through MLB Charities and Cardinals Care. The charity and community service initiatives, which will be themed “Going Beyond,” will be the most extensive in Major League Baseball All-Star history and will complement the celebration of history and traditions of Baseball and the St. Louis Cardinals.

About 2009 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

The 80th Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be played on Tuesday, July 14th in St. Louis and will feature the best of the American League taking on the top players of the National League.  Major League Baseball has responded to United States of America President Barack Obama’s call for community service through “United We Serve,” a program which encourages Americans to engage in sustained and meaningful community service. Building up to the excitement of the All-Star Game, Major League Baseball will conduct a wide variety of special events and charitable activities for fans both inside and outside of Busch Stadium. At the ballpark, the events will include Taco Bell All-Star Sunday on Sunday, July 12th featuring the XM All-Star Futures Game and the Taco Bell All-Star Legends & Celebrity Softball Game, and Gatorade All-Star Workout Day on Monday, July 13th featuring the State Farm Home Run Derby. Outside of the ballpark, fans will have an opportunity to experience All-Star Summer through a variety of special events including Major League Baseball All-Star FanFest, the five-day interactive fan festival; the MLB All-Star Charity Concert presented by Pepsi benefiting Stand Up To Cancer, a free concert for fans under The Gateway Arch featuring Sheryl Crow; the All-Star Charity 5K & Fun Run presented by Sports Authority and Nike, a charity run on a baseball-themed route to benefit three cancer organizations; and the All-Star Game Red Carpet Show presented by Chevy, a free parade of All-Stars leading into Busch Stadium. The Midsummer Classic will be televised nationally on FOX Sports and will be shown around the world by Major League Baseball International. For more information about 2009 All-Star Summer, visit www.allstargame.com.

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Contact: Sarah Leer or Dan Queen, Major League Baseball, (212) 931-7878

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