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For Immediate Release
7/5/2006
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Cycling 5,000 miles this summer to raise funds for
childhood cancer research, two recent graduates from Vanderbilt University are
making a tour stop at the Children's Hospital at Sinai on July 6 at 2:30 PM.
Austin Bauman, 22, and Tom Reardon, 21, who set off on their three month Rally
Across America June 1 in Atlanta, will be welcomed by several staff members,
patients and administrators when they roll up to the doors of the
Children's Hospital at Sinai. Among those greeting the riders will be 6
year-old Amelia Osborn. In every city the Rally riders stop, they choose one or
two children who are battling cancer to dedicate their exhaustive journey too.
And Amelia is their inspiration for the Baltimore leg.
Amelia was diagnosed with leukemia when she was 4-
years- old. Since then she has endured over two years of treatment. And in her
time at the Children's Hospital at Sinai, she has made many friends,
and according to the staff, is a "real hoot!"
"Amelia is a bright light of
hope and sunshine in the shadow of a deadly and difficult disease. She had a
high risk for failure form of Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia, the most common cause
of cancer in children. Despite her diagnosis and her ordeal of treatment, Amelia
and her family kept us thoroughly entertained with their constant energy and
positive outlook," said Joseph Wiley, MD, Chairman, Department
of Pediatrics at Sinai Hospital
. "The
group from Rally Across America are doing wonderful things from a grass roots
level and I admire their devotion. They could not have chosen a more loveable
and worthy child to dedicate their journey."
Childhood cancer is the number one disease
killer of kids from birth to age 20. And everyday 46 kids, or enough to fill two
classrooms, are diagnosed with a form of childhood cancer. The riders, Bauman
and Reardon, are hoping to educate families and communities by visiting
hospitals and holding local fundraising events at each tour stop, including
Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, St. Louis and 16 other cities.
"When you see the faces of these kids, you can't
help but want to do something," said Bauman. "I'm not a professional cyclist,
but I'm doing this for them. If they can fight cancer, I can bike 5,000 miles.
I'm hoping that cyclists and communities everywhere will look at what we are
doing and donate a penny per mile. Together, we can do this."
The Rally Foundation, a non-profit organization,
donates 100 percent of its proceeds to Children's Oncology Group (COG) hospitals
nationwide. The Foundation says childhood cancer research is under-funded by as
much as $30 million each year. It believes that through grassroots initiatives,
families and communities can raise the funds needed for research that will
provide better treatments, fewer long-term side effects and ultimately a cure.
Visit www.rallyfoundation.org for more information.
Sinai
Hospital is part of LifeBridge Health, a regional health care organization that
includes Northwest Hospital Center, Levindale Hebrew
Geriatric Center and Hospital, Jewish
Convalescent & Nursing Home, and related subsidiaries and
affiliates.
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