Four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon – alongside Partners In Health representatives, Dr. Larry Shulman and Dr. Sara Stulac – gathered friends and supporters on Wednesday evening to announce their new partnership to bring accessible cancer treatment to children of Rwanda.
The Jeff Gordon Children's Foundation has committed to raise $1.5 million dollars over the course of three years to participate in the development and implementation of proper protocols for pediatric cancer patients in that region.
Rwanda remains Africa’s most densely populated country, and its estimated population of 10 million is expected to double within the next 10 years. Through the funding of the Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation, Partners in Health and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute will develop a comprehensive program to address all components of cancer: prevention, diagnosis, chemo and radiation therapies, surgery and survivor follow-up care for children faced with cancer.
“Childhood cancer occurs randomly, regularly and excludes no ethnicity, socioeconomic class or geographic region and that is why it is imperative we reach beyond our borders and bring access to treatment to countries like Rwanda,” said Gordon. “Partners In Health and the Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation share a mutual desire to reach the day when no child faces the uncertainties of cancer. With our new partnership we are one step closer.”
The evening concluded with a discussion among Gordon, Dr. Shulman and Dr. Stulac and the assembled guests about the newly launched initiative. They answered questions, shared first-hand stories of their personal experiences and showed video footage of rural Rwanda demonstrating the urgent need for pediatric medical care.
Together in partnership, the Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation and Partners In Health and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute are committed to establish and execute a proper infrastructure for oncological treatment and care.
The Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation was established as a non-profit organization in 1999 by the four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion. The Foundation supports children battling pediatric cancer by funding programs that improve patients’ quality of life, treatment programs that increase survivorship and pediatric medical research dedicated to finding a cure. In addition, the foundation also supports the Jeff Gordon Children’s Hospital in Concord, NC.
