Beginning last October, in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Jacksonville Jaguars sold pink hats featuring the Breast Cancer Awareness pink ribbon and the Jaguars logo. The organization asked fans to join in the fight against breast cancer by purchasing and wearing these hats.
The fans responded by purchasing over 1,300 hats, raising funds of $15,192.32. The Weaver Family Foundation then matched this amount, to make a total donation of $30,384.64.
"Wayne and I are proud to partner with the Mayo Clinic, the Jaguars, our fans and the community in support of breast cancer research. Much has been accomplished but until the cause and cure are found, we must continue to support our local scientists at the laboratory bench and clinicians at the bedside of their patients," said Delores Barr Weaver. "I dream of a world without cancer, and one day it will be so," she added.
On Friday, May 22, Wayne and Delores Barr Weaver presented the check to Edith Perez, M.D., director of Mayo Clinic's Multidisciplinary Breast Center, and William Rupp, M.D., CEO of Mayo Clinic's campus in Florida (pictured from right to left). The gift will help support translational research in breast cancer, creating a bridge between laboratory science and patients. Mayo Clinic's Breast Center is a comprehensive facility specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of all types of breast conditions, from benign breast abnormalities to breast cancer.
"I would like to thank the Jaguars and the Weaver Family Foundation for their continued support on behalf of our entire Breast Center team here at Mayo Clinic," said Dr. Perez. "I'm very proud of our strong group of basic and clinical researchers and their efforts to translate laboratory findings into clinical trials that explore new ways to optimize breast cancer prevention and treatment. This gift will help us further those research efforts."
Dr. Perez is a member of the Mayo Clinic Women's Cancer Program Steering Committee and director of the Cancer Clinical Study Unit at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., and is chair of the Breast Committee for the North Central Cancer Treatment Group (NCCTG). She also serves as member of the Board of Scientific Advisors to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), member of the Clinical Trials and Translational Advisory Committee to the NCI, member of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Clinical Research Awards Committee, as well as chair of the Nominations Committee of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
"Thank you, Jaguars fans, for helping us in the battle against cancer. The Jaguars will continue to sell the pink hats while the supply lasts, and the Weaver Family Foundation will continue its match dollar to dollar," said Wayne Weaver, Chairman of the Jaguars. "We are proud to support the research of Dr. Perez and her team at Mayo Clinic," he added.
